


The Mummy Returns

by AvyJC15



Series: The Mummy (1999) Series [2]
Category: The Mummy Returns (2001)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-05
Updated: 2018-06-26
Packaged: 2019-05-15 03:23:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 39,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14782731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvyJC15/pseuds/AvyJC15
Summary: Many years ago, in Ancient Egypt, the Scorpion King led a menacing army, but when he sold his soul to Anubis, he was erased from history. Now he is only a myth... or is he?Evelyn Carnahan, Rick, and Annabella O'Connell are still discovering new artifacts, along with their eight-year-old son Alex. They discover the Bracelet of Anubis. But someone else is after the bracelet. High Priest Imhotep has been brought back from the dead once again and wants the bracelet, to control the Scorpion King's army. That's not the only problem. Imhotep now has Alex and with the bracelet attached to him, doesn't have long to live.**ATTENTION** I DO NOT OWN ANY OF STEPHEN SOMMERS'S ORIGINAL CHARACTERS FROM THE ORIGINAL 'THE MUMMY' NOR THOSE FROM THE VIDEO GAME 'UNCHARTED' (Nathan Drake, etc.). I ONLY OWN ANNABELLA CARNAHAN AND A FEW RANDOM CHARACTERS NOT MENTIONED IN EITHER GAME OR MOVIE.





	1. Preamble

__

_Five thousand years ago, a fierce warrior known as the Scorpion King led a great army on a campaign to conquer the known world. After a vicious campaign, which lasted seven long years, the Scorpion King and his army were defeated and driven deep into the sacred desert of Ahm Shere. One by one, they slowly perished under the scorching sun until only the great warrior himself was left alive._

_Nearing the brink of death, the Scorpion King made a pact with the dark god Anubis that if He would spare his life and let him conquer his enemies, he would give him his soul once he let out his final breath. Anubis accepted his offer and spared his life, sending him one of the most known creatures in the desert._

_A scorpion._

_Without a second thought, the great warrior snatched the creature up from the sand and brought it to his chapped lips._ _As he chewed into the scorpion sent to him, an oasis sprouted out of the desert around him, later named the Oasis of Ahm Shere, and he gave a triumphant battle cry._

_Anubis gave the Scorpion King command of his army, and like an evil flood, they washed away all that lay before them._

_The Scorpion King— now an anthropomorphic chief warrior of invincible hordes of two-legged, jackal-headed demonic fighters— led Anubis' army that swept across Egypt and defeated Thebes in a military victory._

_When his task was done, Anubis forced the Scorpion King to serve him for all time._

_The Scorpion King dropped his Anubis Bracelet into the sand at his feet, and Anubis claimed his soul and took it to the Underworld where he was frozen in time for five thousand years along with his army._

_His army was returned to the sands from whence they came, where they would wait for millenniums, silently to be awakened once again._

_Whoever found the Scorpion King's magic bracelet could revive him, kill him and take control of his fearsome fighters._


	2. The bracelet

It had been ten years since the brash adventurer Rick O'Connell and the thrill-seeking archaeologist Annabella met. Ten years since they found the mummy of Imhotep in Hamunaptra, in the desert. A mummy which, after three thousand years, woke up and tried to kill Evelyn, Anna's younger sister and the youngest in the Carnahan family. He wanted to be the king of Egypt first, and then king of the world, but Rick fought against Imhotep and won.

The mummy returned to his strange sleep below the ground of Hamunaptra, and Rick married Annabella the following year.

The explorer was wandering through ancient ruins near the Nile in an underground tunnel area below a temple— now a family man with his wife, a precocious eight-year-old son named Alex, and an overly excited sister-in-law. Annabella loved everything about Egypt and could read the old languages just like her younger sister, Evelyn. She studied the country's temples and its old stories. Their son... well, he was pretty much a male spitting image of Anna, always thirsting for thrill and adventure, though like his father, he had a knack of not doing what he was told.

Cautiously glancing around, pulling cobwebs out of the way every now and then, Rick continued down the tunnel as quietly as he could, lit torch in one hand. He had noticed, a few moments ago when he had gone inside the statuette of Horus, the shadows of someone walking round in the dark. Pulling back another web, he walked through a passage, searching every corner with the torch held out in front of him and his handgun now out of its holster.

Face in the torchlight, he saw but an empty passage, though as he turned, he bumped into someone, causing the stranger to fall down. He quickly pointed his gun at the stranger, then blinked quite a few times in disbelief when he saw who it was.

"Alex!" Rick said, his heart pounding against his chest.

Alex looked up at his father with wide eyes and laughed. "What were you thinking? A mummy had come back to life?" he asked in the British accent he got from his mother.

"I'll tell you that story some other time." Rick rolled his eyes. "What are you doing down here, I told you to wait for us up there."

"But—"

"It's dangerous down here, Alex."

"But Dad, I saw your tattoo."

Rick gave his son a puzzled look. "You saw what?"

"I saw your tattoo on the wall near the entrance! There was the cartouche just like it with the pyramid and the eyes and the two kings, everything."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Alex grabbed his father's wrist, turned it and pointed at the tattoo. It showed a pyramid with the Eye of Horus in the center. Rick didn't know anything about his tattoo. It was there when he was a baby.

"Okay... well, I'll be up to take a look at that in a minute but in the meantime, I want you to wait for us up there." Rick pushed his son out of the passage.

"But—"

"No, pick up your stuff and I'll see you in the temple go on."

Alex frowned as he started backing down the passage. "What shall I do?"

Rick shrugged. "I don't know, surprise me, go build a mousetrap or something."

"Okay."

"Don't go and desecrate another tomb."

"... okay..."

**********************************************************

In a different room, Annabella O'Connell was studying a strange picture on a large door. It showed two people in a fight; not men, but beautiful young women. Anna couldn't see their faces, but she thought,

_I know these women. Where are they from? Where did I see them before? Maybe the answers are behind this door._

Shaking her head and squinting her eyes, she brushed some dust off of it, then frowned when she heard a faint hissing sound. She spun around and looked down and rolled her eyes when she saw a snake cunningly making its way toward her.

 _'Cause I'm that attractive_ , she thought sarcastically before glaring down at the snake. She had had a lot of bad experiences with those nasty little... kind of little creatures.

"Go away," she muttered before kicking it away from her, making it accidentally fly towards her husband who had just walked in.

"Those are poisonous, you know," he stated after dodging the reptile.

"Only if they bite you," she said, amusement twinkling in her hazel, green-speckled eyes. "What was that all about?"

"Oh, nothing. Alex wanted to show me something. I swear that kid gets more and more like you every day."

Anna turned to look at him with a mischievous glint in her eyes, a small smirk on her lips as she slowly approached him. "What? You mean more attractive, sweet and devilishly charming."

Rick chuckled. "I don't know about the sweet part... but no, he's driving me crazy," he replied, then kissed her before walking over to the wall Anna had been inspecting as Evelyn joined them.

"Found anything?" Rick asked her.

Evelyn shook her head at her brother-in-law, disappointingly. "No, nothing worth wasting time on."

Rick shrugged before turning back to his wife who was eying the wall. "Then, where were we?"

Evelyn advanced towards them and grabbed some tools from their toolkit. "Hammer and chisel," she said, holding up a miniature version of the said tools. She handed them to Rick, who glanced at his wife, who was already raising an eyebrow at her sister.

"Really?" Anna drawled with a smile. She, very much like her sister, used her head, but, like Rick, she preferred to work with her hands.

Evelyn rolled her eyes at the couple. "Oh, alright, alright. Let's do it your way."

Anna nodded in approval while Rick handed the small tools back to Evelyn and let out a relieved, "Thank you," as Anna handed him a large chisel. The sisters turned their head as Rick hit the wall, breaking it. It led to another part of the Temple.

Annabella grimaced, and Evelyn whimpered in disgust when they caught sight of scorpions crawled about and mummies lied, open-mouthed— practically smiling— on the floor. Stopping herself from gagging, Anna grabbed a torch and started making her way through, stepping on the scorpion-less spots.

"Ever since I had that dream, this place is all I can think of," she said as her husband and sister mirrored her movements.

"Ever since you had that dream, I haven't had a decent night's sleep," Rick replied, carelessly stepping on the scorpions, killing them instantly with each step he took.

"I feel like I've been here before... I _know_ I've been here before," she insisted.

"Nobody's been here before, Bells. Not for three thousand years except for these guys," Rick replied, motioning towards the corpses lying around the dark room.

Evelyn stepped forward, beside her sister and pulled a handle on a wall, causing doors to open. "Then how do we seem to know exactly where we're going?"

Rick stared at his sister-in-law for a moment, then groaned. "You're having them too?"

Evelyn chuckled as they entered the new room. "I'm surprised you haven't noticed. We live in the same house, every time my sister wakes up, so do I. And I'm not exactly quiet about it either."

"So modest," Rick replied sarcastically, making the sisters chuckle.

"Darling, we're sisters," Anna told her husband. "Obviously if something strange happens to one of us, it ought to happen to the other too. Remember with the whole... mummy incident ten years ago?"

"She was taken to have a spirit take over her body while I was taken to be sacrificed to bring back someone from the dead," Evelyn agreed.

"You two will be the death of me," Rick muttered.

**********************************************************

Meanwhile, on the outside of the temple, three horsemen arrived. Each one of them had guns and knives attached to their belts. Inside, Alex ran over to a mouse trap he had just built, at the feet of a giant statue. He put cheese in it, waiting for the mouse that was a few feet away to approach it, but let out a sucked in a panicked breath when he noticed the shadows of some people entering the temple. Quickly, Alex grabbed his bag and ran up a scaffolding as the men finally entered, each holding a lit torch.

"Knock, knock, anybody home?" said one of the men, smirking.

They cautiously walked around, unaware that Alex was watching them.

"Why are those O'Connells around here?" the first man, Spivey, asked.

"Lock-Nah told us about them. They aren't a problem. We have to get the box," Red, the next man, said.

"But maybe they'll find the box first. Then Lock-Nah won't pay us." The last man's name was Jacques.

"We'll kill them and take it." It was Red again.

Alex wasn't bored now. How could he help his parents?

"You two check out that stuff, see if it's there, I'll sort out the O'Connells," Red said.

Alex watched the three men. Red went down the stairs while the other two stayed.

**********************************************************

Rick entered another room, Anna and Evie at his heels. Anna slightly stumbled, but when she steadied herself and looked up, she blinked a few times to make sure she wasn't dreaming the sudden changes in the ancient temple. Evelyn was also finding it hard to believe; the previously dusty and slightly gray walls were now of a beautiful golden color. The door they had been heading towards opened on its own and inside, there was a chest being guarded by two guards. The door was then closed by a beautiful woman, and though she was facing the sisters when she walked away, no matter how close she got to them, they couldn't see her face though they felt like they should know her... like they did know her.

Just as the woman walked away, Rick walked into their field of view, making the realistic scene dissolve before their eyes.

Frowning, Anna swung her torch around, as if that would bring the vision back, oblivious of her sister doing the same. Finally hearing the sudden whooshing sounds, Rick turned around and raised a puzzled eyebrow when he saw his wife and sister-in-law swinging their torches about.

"You know... if you move that fast enough you can almost write your name," he said.

Anna snapped out of her thoughts and shook her head. "I... I just had a vision, it was like my dream, b-but it was real..." she trailed off, looking at her sister who shared the same dazed look.

"Like we were actually here in ancient times," Evelyn finished.

Silence fell upon them and it was quite heavy for a moment as the three stared at each other.

"I know this place," Annabella finally said.

"You know it from a book," Rick insisted, not wanting his wife to freak out any more than she has been in her whole life after her many... abnormal adventures. "Somebody closed that door before you were born."

"No, Rick. I remember it. I know everything about this room... about this temple."

"Well, if you actually were here, would you help me off with this thing?"

Taking a deep breath, Anna handed her bag over to her sister and stepped forward, holding her torch out for her husband to take. "Hold this."

After brushing away with her hand some cobweb that was covering the door, she pressed in on a stone that seemed to be the key and moved it around in the correct combination— the one the woman in her vision had put in to close the door. After a few turns, the door was unlocked.

Rick gave her a look of disbelief. "Alright, now you're starting to scare me."

Anna took another deep breath, glancing from her sister to her husband. "I'm starting to scare myself."

"Shit is going down," Evelyn agreed.

Anna glared at her. "If Alex were here, I would scold the hell out of you."

Rick and Evelyn snorted simultaneously before replying in unison, "No, you wouldn't."

"No, I wouldn't." _Sigh_. "God, I am the worst..."

**********************************************************

Spivey and Jacques glanced about, examining the objects of the floor.

"Look at this, look at the state of this rubbish. The Egyptians never had a clue," said Spivey.

Alex bit his lip as he watched them from the scaffolding.

"Look at the state, it's all chipped. Look at that ancient rubbish," the man went on.

With a mischievous glint in his eyes, so similar to his mother's, Alex brought out a small mobile catapult and aimed. He let go and hit the complaining man. Jacques turned around, bringing their guns out while the one that was hit started screaming.

"Aaaahhhh, Jack! Something hit my neck!"

 _Jacques_ glared at the one holding his neck and the other one in a way to tell him to keep quiet. "This place is cursed. We don't want to wake the Gods," he said.

**********************************************************

Anna moved into the next dark room, and suddenly it was golden again... it was twelve-ninety before Christ. She saw one of the women from the picture on the door. The woman moved— she wasn't dead! She put a box on a table and closed it. Then she looked into Anna's eyes. Anna jumped, and suddenly it was 1933 again.

"Anna, what's wrong?" Rick asked.

"Did you see something?" Evelyn asked.

Anna blinked and shook her head. "No, nothing. I'm okay. But look, there's a box on that table!" Anna walked to the table and looked at the box, her sister peering over her shoulder.

"The Scorpion King!" Evelyn cried.

"What?" Rick asked, puzzled by the young Carnahan's outburst.

"That's the emblem of the Scorpion King," Anna explained as he walked over to them. "He's supposed to be pure myth, no trace of him has ever been found before, no artifacts, no archival evidence."

"Maybe they didn't want anyone to find him," Rick said as Anna wiped the dust of the box.

"His face is on the top of the box," Evelyn said excitedly. "Let's open it."

Anna bit her lip and hesitated. "I... don't know, Evie. I have a weird feeling about this one."

"It's only a chest, no harm ever came from opening a chest," Evelyn said.

Anna scoffed, rolling her eyes at her sister. "Yeah... right, no harm ever came from reading a book, I remember how that one ended."

"And no harm ever came from grabbing one half of a 'beautiful' amulet inside the crypt," Rick continued.

Anna nodded. "We were ambushed by Talbot within three minutes, he took the amulet, then flesh-eating spiders appeared and killed one of his men, and we narrowly escaped them."

Evelyn pouted. "It's just a box."

"Evie, is that really a good idea?" Anna pressed, she didn't want to go through another mummy-resurrection incident.

"Wasn't he a very bad man?" Rick agreed.

"Yes, but that was in 4000 BC. He's dead. It's not dangerous now. It's only a box!"

Two mummies in soldiers' clothes stood in the room with Annabella, Rick and Evelyn. Rick didn't like mummies. But, thankfully, these two weren't dangerous— they were very dead.

"Anna, this is really exciting! We know the story of the Scorpion King," Evelyn squealed like a little girl. "This is _his_ box— open it quickly!"

"What?! Evie!"

"Evelyn..." Anna warned.

"Oh, come on, we can't stop now," Evelyn pleaded.

Rick sighed; even he couldn't say 'no' to his sister-in-law. "Well, just remember, we were the voices of reason here."

"For once," Evelyn agreed.

Anna scoffed. "Always," she muttered.

Rick didn't like this idea, but he wanted to help his wife whom he knew would eventually give into her sister. He tried to open the box with his knife, but the top didn't move. Anna closed her eyes, and she could see the room in twelve-ninety BC again. Suddenly, she opened her eyes and frowned. Her sister frowned as well, but not for the same reason. Evelyn took the knife from Rick and tried to pry the chest herself. It wouldn't open. Rick glanced around and silently chuckled to himself when something hanging from around the neck of one of the dead guards' neck caught his eye. He yanked it turned to his wife who had her eyes narrowed as she tried to figure out a way to open the chest. There was probably a key—

"Hey," Rick said, catching Anna and Evelyn's attention. "Let's do it your way." Anna relaxed and chuckled at her husband's smirk as she grabbed the key from his hand and went up to the chest. She glanced at her sister who gave her an encouraging nod and put the key in the box and turned the Scorpion King's head to the east. The box opened easily.

"The gold Bracelet of Anubis, the god of the dead!" Annabella and Evelyn said in unison, grinning at each other.

**********************************************************

Back in the entrance, Alex aimed his catapult and let go, letting the rock fly towards his target, but Jacques caught it before it could hit Spivey on the butt. He looked up and finally saw the boy.

"I'll take care of this," he growled.

**********************************************************

Red, whom had finally reached the O'Connells and the young Carnahan pointed his gun at Anna and Rick.

Before Anna could stop her, Evelyn took the bracelet out of the box to show it to them.

"Stop!" shouted Red. He walked into the room with his gun pointed at them. "Give the bracelet to me!"

But at that minute, the floor of the temple began to move, Red losing his balance along the way before running off.

"Oh, my God," Evelyn said, putting the bracelet back in the chest and closed.

"It's a bit late for that, isn't it?!" Rick shouted.

"Uh... put it in your rucksack, Rick," Evelyn said, handing the box to her brother-in-law.

"I have a better idea, let's leave it here!" shouted Rick, putting the box back.

"No, it's important!"

"It's dangerous!"

"We're not leaving it here!"

"Anna, a little help," Rick pleaded.

Anna rolled her eyes and shoved the box into her husband's arms. "A bit late for that."

"What's it say?" he asked.

She narrowed her eyes as she started to read the inscriptions on the lid aloud, "He who disturbs this bracelet shall drink from the Nile."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Evelyn said.

Rolling his eyes, Rick put the box in his bag and ran with his wife and sister-in-law. Neither of them was exactly sure where they were going anymore; they ran up to a dead end just as water broke through a wall and started flooding the place.

"Bad enough?" Anna asked.

"Pretty much," Evelyn replied as they turned and ran down another tunnel, the water right at their heels.

**********************************************************

Jacques started climbing up the ladder of the scaffolding, making his way toward the panicked little boy.

"Jack's gonna make a nice fillet out of you my son," Spivey said, watching from the bottom with a smirk on his long ugly face. Jacques groaned and stopped for a moment, removing the knife from between his teeth and turning to glare at Spivey.

"It's _Jacques_ ," he snarled before turning back to his motive. Just as Jacques had reached him though, Red up and out of the temple.

" _Jack_ , let's get out of here," Spivey said.

Glaring at the boy, Jacques slid down the ladder and kicked the scaffolding, making Alex lose his balance just as the men ran out. Anna, Rick and Evelyn weren't exactly in a comfortable position either. They were being chased down the tunnel by water. The scaffolding which Alex was on collapsed, taking pillars down in a domino effect while Alex just stood in the middle, looking at the mess.

"Whoa," he said. Yep, kid. You're definitely in trouble... note the sarcasm.

**********************************************************

The water reached the O'Connell couple and the youngest Carnahan, all three quickly grabbing a hold of each other, in fear. Anna, Rick and Evelyn were now in the water, holding onto a grate, trying to get out. Alex looked around and felt his breath get caught up in his throat when he noticed the last pillar was about to fall. Alex ran over to it and tried to push it, to stop it from falling, though we all know it wasn't going to work.

"This is bad, Evie!" Anna shouted, trying to keep herself from drowning.

"We've had bad before!" Evelyn replied, trying to keep her head above the water while pulling the grate along with the other two.

"This is worse!" Rick shouted as the water finally surrounded them completely.

The three continued to struggle, holding their breaths while trying to get the grate to move so they can get out as Alex kept pushing as hard as he could, glancing thoroughly at the emblem on the wall. Finally, the pillar moved, and Alex jumped out of the way as it smashed through the wall, letting the water out in flows, carrying Anna, Rick and Evelyn on its river, ending at Alex's feet.

As his parents and aunt gasped for air, Alex glanced from side to side. Wiping the water out of their faces, Evelyn just rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling, still gasping for air while Anna and Rick looked up at Alex to find him looking at them with a guilty expression on his face.

"Mum, Dad... I can explain everything."

Evelyn sighed tiredly, rubbing her eyes in an attempt to not lose consciousness then and there. "Al... I'm pretty sure you can't."


	3. Unexpected guests

"Well, I'm off to bed," Evelyn mumbled, heading up to her room as the family entered their house in London.

"Sweet dreams," Rick muttered, rolling his eyes. It was always like this after every quest they went on. He and Anna did most of the work, and Evelyn was the first to go to bed when they got back.

"I think the bracelet is some sort of guide to the lost Oasis of Ahm Shere," Anna said as she passed the stairs, her husband right behind her, holding most of the luggage.

He sighed. "Anna, I know what you're thinking, and the answer is 'no'; we just got home," he said, putting the bags down.

Anna turned to look at him and grinned. "That's the beauty of it," she said, placing her handbag on the ground. "We're already packed."

"I'm all for going!" Evelyn shouted from the top of the stairs.

Rick groaned. "I thought you went to sleep."

Evelyn rolled her eyes at him. "I was on my way," she mumbled like a little girl before disappearing down the hall.

"Just give me one good reason," Rick said, turning his attention back to his wife.

She blinked her big hazel, green-speckled eyes at him and slightly jutted her lip out, giving him an innocent look. "It's just an oasis, darling."

She walked up to him, swaying her hips seductively as she then proceeded to take off his hat and started gradually unwrapping his scarf from his neck.

"A beautiful, exciting, romantic oasis," she said, throwing his scarf onto the floor as he wounded his arms around her waist, pulling her to him.

"The kind with the white sandy beaches, palm trees, cool, clear blue water with those big drinks with the little umbrellas," he played along, smiling down at her.

Anna nodded and smiled, placing her arms on his strong shoulders. "Sounds good."

He chuckled and nodded. "Sounds _too_ good," he said before pushing her away at arms length and looked her in the eyes. "What's the catch?"

"Supposedly, it's the resting place of Anubis' army," she said, turning around and walking down the landing.

Rick laughed in disbelief. "You see? There was a catch, there's always a catch. How _did_ I know that? Let me guess, he's commanded by this Scorpion King guy."

"Yes, but he only wakes once every five thousand years."

Rick nodded, following her. "Right and unless someone doesn't kill him, he's going to wipe out the world," he said as they walked up the stairs.

Anna paused and looked back at him. "How did you know?"

"I didn't, but that's always the story."

"The last known expedition to actually reach Ahm Shere, was sent by Rameses the fourth, more than three thousand years ago and he sent over one thousand men."

"None of them was ever seen again," Rick said as they reached the top of the stairs.

"How did you know?"

"I didn't, but that's always the story."

"Did I mention that there was a pyramid of gold?"

Rick nodded. "Twice," he replied as he followed Anna over to their book filled shelves they had on their wall.

"Alexander the great sent troops in search of it," Anna said, slipping her cardigan off and simply throwing it onto a random chair as she walked.

"Bully for him."

Anna shrugged, slipping her scarf off and throwing it on the rail surrounding the floor they were on. "So did Caesar."

Rick snorted. "Look what happened to his career."

"And Napoleon," Anna continued, pointing at the painting of the said man before she reached a ladder.

"Anna, we're smarter than him," he said, pointing at the same painting of said man as she climbed up the ladder, reaching for a book. "And taller to..."

"Exactly, that's why we're the ones who are going to find it," Anna said casually.

"Because we're taller," Rick said, raising an eyebrow.

Anna chuckled as she jumped from the ladder, straight into Rick's arms and kissed his jaw. "That's why I love you."

He set her down at her feet and shook his head, smiling down at her. "Nice try."

"Mum? What do I do with this chest?" Alex grunted from the living room. "Sucker weighs a goddamn ton."

Anna glared sternly down at her son from the landing. "Alex, watch your language."

Alex rolled his eyes, knowing she wasn't really being serious about it. "Rather weighty this," he corrected himself anyway as he placed the chest on a table. As he turned away from it though, he heard a sudden clicking sound coming from inside the chest and instantly glanced back at it, puzzled and curious.

Rick looked at his wife for a moment. "Anna, that first weird dream of yours, was exactly six weeks ago."

Anna furrowed her brows for a moment then nodded. "I think so, yes, but what's that got to do with anything?"

Rick thumbed through a book. "It just happens to coincide with Egyptian new Year." He showed her the year of the scorpion.

Anna's eyes traveled the page briefly before she looked up at Rick and smiled innocently, still not knowing what he was going on about. "Oh, that's right. What a coincidence."

Rick nodded. "Maybe. All I'm saying is let's be cautious."

Down in the living room, Alex opened the chest and his eyes widening as he saw the golden bracelet. He stared at it, almost hypnotized, then quickly up at his parents up on the landing before returning his blue eyes to the artifact.

"If anything ever happened to you, I would never forgive myself," Rick murmured to Anna, pulling her towards him.

Alex took the bracelet out of its chest and put it on, the jewel instantly closing itself around his wrist. Lights then shone out of it, and Alex could now see pyramids on the wall of his living room. Rick glanced briefly down at his son, but could not see the visions from up there, nor the fact that his son was wearing the bracelet.

"You and Alex are the only things that matter to me," he said to Anna, looking her dead in the eyes to let her know that he was being serious.

Anna bit her lip, wanting the kiss the daylights out of him, but stood her ground, not wanting to do so when her son was in clear sight of them. She went for changing the subject. "Well, the Bembridge Scholars have been begging me and Evie to run the British Museum."

The pictures displaying before Alex zoomed through a desert all the way to Karnak. When they finally stopped, Alex blinked the daze away, glanced around then tried to take the bracelet off.

"Christ, how do you get this thing off?" he muttered, trying to pry the jewel off his wrist.

"Have I kissed you today?" Rick asked, tightening his grip around Anna's waist.

Anna bit her lip. "I hate it when you do that."

"Why?" Rick asked with a knowing smirk.

"Makes me feel like agreeing to anything," she murmured. He gave her his famous cheesy grin before tipping her backward. Just as he was about to kiss her though, they both froze and looked up at something hanging from one of their bookshelves.

"Those knickers are not mine," Anna said, straightening herself. "And they are certainly not Evie's."

Rick groaned. "Jonathan."

Alex heard his father's footsteps and nervously looked up as Rick shouted down at him. "Hey, Alex, behave yourself for five minutes, okay?"

Alex gave him a nervous smile. "You betcha." With that said, as soon as Rick was out of sight, Alex covered up his wrist as his mom started making her way down the stairs. He quickly put a statue in the chest and closed the lid as Anna approached.

He turned around and gave her a curious look.

"Happy to be home?" she asked with a smile.

"Couldn't be happier," he quickly replied, sending her a nervous smile.

"It's the year of the Scorpion," she said as she handed him a book.

Alex blinked, surprised. "For me?"

Annabella hummed, nodding her head. "Thought you would like it." She was about to turn around before halting, slightly hesitant about what she was about to say next. "Alex... how would you feel about... having another sibling?"

The nervousness in the boy's eyes instantly vanished when she said those words and lit up with excitement. "Really?!"

Anna smiled in relief, knowing he was okay with it. "Really."

"That'd be great, Mum!" he exclaimed, then paused for a moment. "Does Dad know?"

Anna grimaced, shaking her head. "I'll get around to it soon, but that's not the issue right now. Can you pass me the key, Alex?"

Alex's smile turned nervous again. "... the key? What key?"

**********************************************************

Up on another floor, Jonathan was rounding a corner, a beautiful blond giggling by his side.

"So then I killed the mummy and all his millions, and stole the scepter." He proudly held out the gold stick in his hand.

"You're so brave," the woman gushed as they rounded another corner and finally reached his room.

"And rich. Did I mention rich?"

"What do you think I'm doing here?"

Just then, a man in dressed in red walked towards him.

Jonathan instantly got nervous. "Sorry, we must be in the wrong house," he said, starting to back away.

The blond woman by his side frowned. "I thought you said this was your house," she accused as both of them backed up into another man.

"No I didn't," Jonathan said quickly. Unfortunately, before he could run away, he was grabbed by one of the men as the other pushed the pretty blond out of the room.

She struggled a bit and called out to Jonathan. "Call me!" she said, before she was shoved out as Jonathan was forced to sit down.

He looked at the man nervously. "You're not Sheila's husband, are you?"

Suddenly, a man whom Jonathan found quite familiar walked in. "No," he replied, walking across to Jonathan.

"If you work for Johnny, I was going to pay him on Tuesday!" Jonathan said.

The man gave him an exasperated look. "I don't know any Johnny. We're looking for the bracelet of Anubis."

Jonathan looked at him for a moment before nodding as if he understood. "Good, good for you. Got to have the old bracelet of Anubis."

"Where is it?" the man demanded.

Jonathan froze, palms sweating as he put one leg over the other, nervously. "Ah, you're looking for the bracelet, I see." He nodded again, then shook his head, almost wanting to cry. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Mr. O'Connell, you try my patience."

Finally, he started catching on. Jonathan tried to stand up, ready to object, but he was pushed back downs.

"Mr. O'Connell? Now wait, hold on a minute, you've got the wrong man," Jonathan said, almost pleading as a knife was held against his throat.

"Ah, that bracelet," he quickly said. "Yes, of course, now I remember, I lost it in a card game."

The man gave him a hard look. "For your sake, I hope not." He then looked at Jonathan's hand and gawked in shock before snatching the gold stick from the Carnahan man.

He gasped. "No, it can't be."

A gorgeous, olive-skinned goddess, dressed in black, then entered the foyer. "Hello."

Jonathan straightened in his seat. "Hello."

The woman walked forward with a basket. She put it down and gave a cunning smile. "Where's your wife?"

"My wife? Oh, you mean Anna. I think she went off to Baden-Baden or Tibet or something. The girl is a free spirit. Did I mention I was single now?"

The woman took out a snake from the basket. "Egyptian Asps are quite poisonous," she stated, cooing at the reptile.

Jonathan froze once more, knife still at his throat. "It's downstairs in the safe the combination is 3, 20. 58, 3, 9, 3, something. It's in the safe downstairs, I told you. I told you!"

The woman walked over to Jonathan after kissing the snake. "And your point is?" she asked, putting the snake near his throat.

He pulled back. "I told you! I told you, so you wouldn't kill me!"

The woman smirked. "When did we make that arrangement?"

Just then, Rick burst into the room. He saw the whole crowd surrounding Jonathan and sent them an awkward, confused smile.

"Uh... hello." He raised an eyebrow when nobody moved. "Jonathan, I thought I told you no more wild parties."

Jonathan let out a nervous chuckle, though his eyes pleaded for help. "You know when _you_ 're popular," he hinted.

**********************************************************

Down in the living room, Anna was searching her son's pockets, frantically.

"Alex, I'm serious. If you've lost that key you're grounded."

Alex groaned. "I haven't lost it," he denied. "I just can't find it, there's a difference."

Anna snorted. "Try to find differences between identical twins. There are very few," she said before sighing. "God, you're a lot like your uncle sometimes, you know that?"

Alex shrugged. "Not my fault he's always around." Alex perked up as an idea came into his mind. "My uncle Jon! He's here. Maybe he has the key," he said brightly before adding, "You know how he loves gold-coated things."

"He didn't come in with us, Al." Anna rolled her eyes. "I know he's the one usually snatching, but seriously. You'd better start finding it."

Alex rolled his eyes and sighed, disappointed his plan didn't work. "Get real, Mum, there's nothing to worry about," he reassured his mother, slightly giggling when she tickled him. She just couldn't stay mad at him.

"Hey, Anna! Could you pass me the key to the chest," Evelyn called out as she came down the stairs. She felt fresher and more energized now after her nap. "I want to have a look at the bracelet again, see if I can translate the hieroglyphs and hieratic on it."

Anna sighed, still searching her son's pockets. "I'd love to," she said as her sister reached them. "Unfortunately, this little punk lost it."

Alex pouted. "I said I couldn't find it."

Evelyn chuckled and shook her head at her nephew. "Same difference, Alex."

Just then, a dark-skinned man, dressed in red and gold came from behind their lattice screen, a large smirk on his dark features.

"Good evening," he greeted.

Evelyn instantly stepped back and put a hand on Alex's shoulder as Anna got up and stood protectively in front of her sister and son.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" she asked in a calm yet dark and demanding tone.

The man chuckled and smirked. "I'm looking for the chest of course," he said before looking her dead in the eye, all lifting expression completely gone from his face. "Give it too me now."

Alex instantly grabbed the chest as Anna pushed Evelyn back, closer to her son, then grabbed a sword off the wall.

"Get. Out. Of. My house," she glowered through her now gritted teeth.

"Whoa, Mum. Maybe not the best idea," Alex said and Evelyn pulled him backwards, knowing her sister can handle it.

"Get back there," she ordered her son and sister.

Suddenly, the man was joined by some of his own men.

"Ugh, Anna? I’m not sure if now is a good time to tell you this, but I haven't exactly been practicing my... combat... skills," Evelyn said nervously, eyeing each man.

"Yeah, definitely not the best idea," Alex said. "I think it's time to call for Dad now."

Of course he'd say that, but that's because he didn't know a thing of his mom's past. He knew of her being an archeologist, but not of being a danger magnet, thrill seeker— someone who would easily kill people whenever she had no other choice.

"Now, I will kill you and take it anyway," the man said.

Alex and Evelyn turned to the door as a shadow passed them. Evelyn could feel her heart race and her jaw fall open as she stared at the man whom she'd spent the last ten years wishing she'd see again.

"I think not."

The newcomer, dressed in his usual silver and black attire, walked up beside Anna and glared at the dark man who, of course, returned the look.

Anna stared at him, so many emotions flowing through her: shock, relief, happiness, shock again. "Ardeth, what are _you_ doing here?"

Ardeth had to stop himself from smiling at her, due to the circumstances. "Perhaps explanations are better left till later."

"Ardeth Bay," the unknown man sneered.

Ardeth nodded at him. "Lock-Nah."

"Ah... I'm guessing you know each other," Anna muttered with a sarcastic smile. "Great!"

**********************************************************

Rick kept looking at the men in Jonathan's room, confused. "Knowing my brother-in-law, he probably deserves whatever you are about to do to him, but this is my house! I have certain rules about snakes and dismembering—"

He was cut off by the snake thrown his way. He ducked and caught it before looking back up at the woman, who threw it at him, in disbelief.

She glared at him. "Kill him," she ordered.

Without hesitation, Rick threw the snake back her way, but she moved aside, causing the reptile to land on a man behind her. A fight soon followed, not long after, between Rick and the men.

**********************************************************

Ardeth slid his cloak off, and not even a second later, a fight broke between him and the strangers.

" _Al lif_ ," Lock-Nah snarled.

Alex was holding onto the chest, Evelyn struggling to keep away the few men that kept trying to lunge at her and Alex. Alex's eyes widened when his mother hit one of the men off herself with the sword she had grabbed earlier.

"Wow, Mum! Where did you learn to do that?!" Alex exclaimed.

"Long story— too long to tell, and too inappropriate for you to hear!" she said before punching a man. "That, I learned from your father."

**********************************************************

The fight was just as heated in Jonathan's room, but of course all he really cared about was staying alive and keeping his golden artifacts safe from nasty hands.

"I'll take that," he mumbled, snatching the gold scepter back right before machine guns started going off on him and his sister's husband. Quickly, they ran into the bathroom and Rick locked the door behind them. But the door wasn't going to keep them safe for long as bullet holes started to appear upon it.

**********************************************************

Lock-Nah smirked as he fought Ardeth. "Not bad… for a Medjai," he sneered.

Meanwhile, Alex was trying to get away from a man, who was trying to get the chest from him. Incidentally, Alex tripped and fell onto the ground, the box escaping his grasp.

"What's in the chest?" Ardeth shouted, fighting, now, against three men at the same time.

Anna took a step backwards then swung a death blow with her sword that was barely blocked by the new stranger she was now fighting. Evelyn kicked the other that was trying to get to Alex as both sisters shouted,

"The bracelet of Anubis!"

Ardeth lost focus and was hit on the chest by Lock-Nah, causing him to stumble backwards onto a bookshelf. "They must not get the bracelet, get it and get out of here!"

Alex pulled a shelf down on top of one of them when the man tried to get his sword that had been stuck on it.

"Mum, look out!"

Ardeth and Evelyn spun just in time to see Anna being knocked out cold over the head. "Annabella!" Ardeth shouted as Evelyn shouted "Anna!" at the same time. Evelyn got kicked in the stomach and Ardeth got cut on the shoulder in the face as Anna was swept off her feet and whisked away.

"Mum!" Alex exclaimed, stepping forward to go after her.

Lock-Nah threw a dagger at Ardeth who held his injured shoulder and barely moved out of the way. The knife stuck into the wall as Lock-Nah put his cloak on and left.

**********************************************************

Rick glanced around the bathroom frantically, looking for Jonathan. "Jonathan? Jonathan!"

Jonathan's head shot out of the bathtub, from a load of bubbles he had to shake off.

"What did you do this time?" Rick demanded.

"I-I haven't done anything to anyone," Jonathan replied. And for once, that was true.

Rick grunted and pulled Jonathan out of the bathtub, by his collar. "Come on."

They ducked as bullets came through the door once more. Holes appeared in it. Both men glanced at each other before sprinting for the window and jumping through it, the glass breaking in the process. They rolled off a canopy onto the balcony and peer over, only to have to jump down to the grown when a man stood at the window at fired at them again with his machine gun. Jonathan and Rick ran, with bullets hitting the wall and gate as they went through.

A car quickly took off as Jonathan and Rick ran out only to watch it leave. The curtain from the rear window slid open and Rick could feel his heart stop when he saw his wife being whisked away.

"RICK!" she shouted.

"ANNA!" he shouted back.

A cloth was instantly placed over Anna's mouth, gagging her, and she soon disappeared, the curtain from the rear window sliding close as Rick and Jonathan started chasing after her, but they soon had to stop as another car came out with a gun firing from its door.

"Look out, Rick!" Jonathan exclaimed before both men ran to a pillar and hid as the bullets bounced off it. Both cars drove off into the night as lightening flashed in the sky.

Alex then ran out to join them with Ardeth and Evelyn at his heels. "Dad, Dad!"

Rick spun on his heels and sighed in relief as he picked his son up into his arms. "Son, you're alright."

Alex nodded, returning his father's embrace. "Yeah."

Rick put him down slowly. When he turned and saw Ardeth, he felt a sudden rage course through his veins as the man bowed. Angrily, Rick grabbed him and swung him round against the pillar.

"O'Connell—"

"What the hell are _you_ doing here? Who the hell are those guys, and where are they taking my wife?"

Ardeth felt a pang in his chest but ignored it as he grabbed Rick's arm and pulled a picture out of his coat.

"My friend, I'm not sure, but wherever this man is, your... wife will surely be," he informed.

Alex narrowed his eyes as he saw the picture. Blinking twice, he snatched the photography from Ardeth's tattooed hand. "Hey, I know him! He's the curator, he works at the British Museum."

They all looked at him, but he wasn't looking at him. He was still looking at the picture.

Ardeth furrowed his thick brows. "Are you sure?"

"You'd better believe it," Rick grunted.

Evelyn nodded in agreement. "He spends more time there than he does at home."

With that said, they all turned and left, the five of them running around the corner.

"Okay. You're here, bad guys are here, Anna's been kidnapped, let me guess," Rick counted down.

Ardeth nodded. "Yes, they've once again removed the creature from his grave."

Jonathan and Evelyn frowned, and the Carnahan man pointed the stick at Ardeth. "I don't mean to point fingers, but isn't that your job to make sure that _doesn't_ happen?"

"The woman who is with them, she knows things, things that no living person could possibly know," Ardeth explained. "She knew exactly where the creature was buried. We were hoping she would lead us to the bracelet, she obviously did, now they have it."

Alex grinned slightly, proud of himself. "I wouldn't get too nervous just yet."

They stopped the car and looked at Alex as he lifted his sleeve and showed them the bracelet.

Shocked, Ardeth quickly grabbed Alex's hands.

"Alex..." Evelyn hesitated. "I don't think that's a good idea. I have a bad feeling about this."

Rick scoffed at his sister-in-law. "So _now_ you get the bad feeling," he muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Is that gold?" Jonathan asked, staring the artifact in awe. They all looked from Alex to the bracelet.

"When I put it on I saw the pyramids at Giza, then whoosh straight across the desert to Karnak," Alex said excitedly.

"By putting that on, you have started a chain reaction that could bring about the next apocalypse," Ardeth said, looking him dead in the eyes, obliviously scaring the boy. Evelyn and Jonathan looked at the man, startled.

"What is with you and apocalypses?" Jonathan muttered.

Rick gave Ardeth a look before pointing at him. "You lighten up." He turned to look down at Alex. "You, big trouble." And finally, he turned to look at the two nervous Carnahan siblings. "You two, get in the car."

And with that said, they all got into the car, with only two current missions on their minds:

Rescue Anna, and if it comes to it, take down their previously unexpected guests. If they have to… which they probably will have to.


	4. Imhotep in London

The car skidded and drove out of the grounds.

"I'm sorry if I alarmed your son," Ardeth apologized. "But you must understand, now that the bracelet is on his wrist, we only have seven days before the Scorpion King awakens."

"We? What _we_?" Rick clenched his jaw, hands tightening around the wheel. "Look, I'm not interested in the Scorpio guy, okay? I just want Anna back."

"Rick, so do we. I mean, she's Jon and I's sister, though I don't know if you've noticed, but we kind of've got your son to worry about here too," Evelyn said.

Jonathan nodded in agreement. "We need to do something to avoid the whole apocalypse thing. I'm too young to die."

Alex gave his uncle an incredulous. " _You're_ too young to die? I'm only eight!"

Ignoring them, Ardeth continued. "If the Scorpion King is awakened and not killed, he will raise the Army of Anubis," he pressed.

"I take it that's not a good thing," said Jonathan, leaning forward in his seat.

Rick and Ardeth looked back at him.

"He could wipe out the world," said Rick.

"Oh, the old wipe out the world ploy." Jonathan leaned back in his seat as the car sped faster.

"Whoever can kill the Scorpion King, can send his army back to the underworld or use it to destroy mankind and rule the earth," said the Medjai.

"So that's why they dug up old Imhotep," Rick said, brows furrowed.

Evelyn nodded from where she sat, on her nephew's right side, understanding more and more what the entire ordeal was about. "He's the only one strong enough to take out the Scorpion King."

"That is their plan," agreed Ardeth.

Lightening struck from the sky as the car pulled past the sign of the British museum. It stopped a few feet away from the door and closed its headlights which had been shining through the rain.

Rick turned in his seat and looked at his son. "Now Alex, I have a big job for you." Alex perked up upon hearing this, though as soon as his spirit was lifted, it dropped when his father said, "I want you to stay here and protect the car."

"I can do that," Jonathan piped in.

The young boy gave his father a look of disbelief, which somewhat mirrored the ones his mother and aunt usually gave him as well. The look turned into a disappointed glare. "Protect the car? Come on, Dad, just because I'm a kid doesn't mean I'm stupid."

"I know that."

Jonathan was hyperventilating now. "If you see anyone coming out screaming, it's just me."

Rick looked at him for a moment, then finally said, "Maybe you should stay here."

Jonathan nodded, grateful. "Yes, now you're talking."

With that said, Rick and Ardeth climbed out of the vehicle, though faltered in their step when they noticed Evelyn following.

"No, you're staying," said Rick in a firm voice.

Evelyn looked at him furiously. "Wha— my _sister_ is in there!"

"My _wife_ is in there."

The brunette gave him an incredulous look. "You're not even linked by blood."

The man gave her a hard look. "Our blood link is sitting in the car. Stay with him, Anna'll kill me if something happened to you. She probably already will, seeing as I brought you two."

Evelyn shook her head. "I'm going," she pressed.

"No."

"I didn't learn how to fight and shoot a gun for nothing!"

He looked at her for a moment, then sighed in defeat, knowing she wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. "Fine."

He opened the boot of the car, grabbed a bundle from inside and pulled out the cloth covering it, revealing an array of weapons. He looked over at the Medjai, holding one of the firearms out at him. "Do you want the shotgun?"

"No, I prefer the Thompson."

Rick reached for another gun as Ardeth reached in to grab the one he preferred, though just as he did, he noticed the tattoo on Rick's wrist and narrowed his eyes. He looked back toward the weapon in his hands and began loading it as Rick did so with the one he held.

"If I were to say to you, 'I am a stranger from the East. I am looking for an important person'," he said, slowly and carefully.

Rick stopped. He remembered a time when he was very young and very sad. He had nobody— no parents, no sisters, no brothers. But he remembered the friendly face of an old man.

The old man told the young boy, " _Don't be sad. You will have a better life with a happy home one day. And, you will help many people. Remember these words ..._ "

Rick remembered the words and said, "I would reply: I am a stranger traveling from the West, it is I that you seek."

Ardeth grabbed his arm. "Then it is true, you have the sacred mark."

Evelyn, who had been watching the men, blinked in confusion. _Sacred mark?_

"What, that? Nah, I got that slapped on me when I was in the orphanage in Cairo," said Rick as he pulled away to hand a gun at his sister-in-law.

"That mark means you are a protector of man," Ardeth insisted. "A warrior for God, a Medjai."

Rick shook his head. "Sorry, you got the wrong guy." He turned and ran into the museum, with Ardeth and Evelyn behind him.

**********************************************************

It was the middle of the night and the museum was dark and full of strange sounds.

Men were bowing as Lock-Nah walked forward. The soldiers in red hats, who accompanied him, were carrying an unconscious Anna on a wooden board, wrists bound together, just as her ankles, into a circle of torches.

She woke up with a start when they rudely set her down. Groggily, she looked around and frowned as her eyes came into focus and saw the men bowing around her and the Curator, who had just stepped forward as well. She watched them, confused for a moment as they kept chanting. She brows raised, breath hitching when realization it her as they brought out her old enemy.

"They've found him," she muttered.

There, before her, was the ugly mummy she wished she'd never see again.

" _Wake up and live! Wake up and live! Wake up and live!_ " Lock-Nah and the other men called to the decayed corpse.

**********************************************************

In another part of museum, as lightening flashed, only the silhouette of Rick, Ardeth and Evelyn were visible as they walked in. They walked through room, lightening flashing, and heard the chanting in the distance.

**********************************************************

Back in the middle of the circle, Anna sat up and looked around. Her eyes stopped, once more, upon the Curator and narrowed. This was going to end badly.

**********************************************************

Rick, Ardeth and Evelyn walked through the exhibits, looking round. Suddenly, mummies began to rise up from their coffins. One of the mummies even popped out and tried to prevent the trio from leaving the museum or going any further, but they managed to dodge it and get away. Finally finding the great Egyptian Room, they stopped at the door. They saw Anna and the people around her, and watched quietly, all three worried of the many possible outcomes.

A light shone on the mummy's face as it slowly began to move. First, its eyes opened, then its head moved, then its arms and legs. But they were not the arms and legs of a man. Anna had look away many times to stop herself from disgorging; this was just as disgusting as the first time all those years ago.

_Anna shook her head, the many corpses she had seen throughout her adventures coming back to her. "No. I've never seen a mummy look like this."_

_Evelyn shuddered, eyeing to body. "She's right. He's, he's still..."_

_"Juicy?" Jonathan offered, making Anna scrunch her nose in disgust at, not only the corpse itself, but the choice of word, though adequate it was to describe the corpse's state._

_"Yes," she said._

Indeed, juicy, he was. The mummy was not dead, but it was not of this world. It was undead, and it wanted its life back again.

"Imhotep," Anna whispered.

It spoke the Curator in the language of old Egypt. " _What year is this?_ "

" _Great Imhotep, it is the Year of the Scorpion,_ " said the Curator.

" _Truly?_ "

The mummy and the Curator turned upon hearing footsteps heading their way. Anna looked over at where the sound came from as well and saw a familiar, gorgeous, olive-skinned woman walk in. She wore a tight, glittery, black evening dress with high heeled shoes, a golden necklace that bore the same insignia worn by the cultists, and long black gloves.

Suddenly, Annabella felt herself being plunged into a flashback.

_"By the way you look... I'd say you were born a millionaire, you have... a penchant for obtaining power, and a strange fondness for snakes, particularly Egyptian Asps, seeing as one saved your arse," said the twenty-four-year-old woman._

_" **You** saved me," replied the raven-haired Egyptian._

_The brunette shrugged. "I know. I just don't like taking all the credit. Gets me too much attention and a hell lotta more enemies."_

_The olive-skinned woman watched her as she gently bandaged her arm. "Who are you?" she asked softly._

_The brunette's lips twitched as though fighting back a smile. "That's for me to know and for you to dot, dot, dot."_

_The other woman frowned. "Why did you save me?" she tried._

_The brunette shrugged. "I know their type. No one should be dealing with people like them; in the end, you'll be tricked by their sly ways of proceeding."_

_"How do you know that?"_

_"Experience," the ivory-skinned woman replied as she finished patching her up. She paused for a moment, then looked up at her._ _"What's your name?"_

_"Meela Nais."_

_"Well, Meela, you're as good as new, but best not get involved with dealers again."_

_"They're dispensable," the dark woman pressed as they both got up._

_The foreigner laughed. "Not always." She grabbed her gunny-sack and spread it on the dirt-covered ground. "Word of advice? If you wanna keep hanging around people like them, learn their ways. Learn their trickery, it's the only way you'll survive."_

_She turned back to the raven-haired woman and handed her a smaller sack. "And always be prepared." She bundled her sack back the way it was as she watched the Egyptian millionaire unroll the small sack in her hands. In it were two handguns, a few knives and extra ammo, along with a few accessories to clean the weapons._

_She looked up just in time to see the foreigner retreating. "Wait!" she called after her before racing after her. "You didn't tell me who you are."_

_The woman smiled. "Anna Carnahan."_

_Meela blinked back in surprise. " **Annabella** Carnahan?"_

_The said woman chuckled. "So you've heard of me."_

_"Well, you have become quite famous, even if it's been but a short time since you've started. You really are your parents' daughter."_

_Anna laughed. "So I've been told. I'm guessing you've heard of us by your parents?" Meela nodded as they reached the end of the wilderness they had been in. "There's a city up ahead, about a ten-minute run. Fifteen, if you walk. Tell them you know me, and they'll take you where you wanna go." Anna turned to walk the other way, but slightly slowed in her steps when Meela called after her._

_"Will we meet again?"_

_Anna smiled. "Dunno, maybe our parents will have a get together someday." She began walking once more and sent her a wave over her shoulder. "Goodbye Meela."_

_"Goodbye, Anna." Meela's voice was so soft from the gratitude she had toward the famous stranger, it was barely audible._

_So, this is how she thanks me?_ Anna thought, with a silent groan. _I should've known she would keep hanging around people like that._

Swallowing hard, she closed her eyes for a second, though it seemed longer as, as soon as she did, when she'd opened them again, Meela no longer looked like _herself_ — she was wearing a skin-tight dress, though it wasn't, in fact, a dress at all, but rather her entire naked body that had been painted in the ancient Egyptian manner.

Anna closed her eyes, then opened them again, brows furrowing as she let out a small sigh through her nose. Meela was herself again; she was back in that tight, glittery, black evening dress with high heeled shoes, golden necklace that bore the same insignia worn by the cultists, and long black gloves.

Meela walked over to stand before the mummy.

"Do not be frightened," said the Curator as the pair stared into each other's eyes.

"I am not afraid," she told him, eyes never leaving the mummy, before switching to ancient Egyptian. " _I am Anck-su-namun reincarnated_."

" _Only in body_." The mummy touched her hair and walked around her. " _But soon I shall bring your soul back from the underworld._ " His eyes momentarily strayed Anna’s way, his gaze going unnoticed by either woman. " _And our love shall once again be,_ " he continued, his gaze not shifting from Anna once as he spoke those words. Finally shifting his gaze back down to Meela, he smirked again. " _And the world will revolve anew as it should_."

Anna silently snorted. "And to think just ten years ago he wanted to bring her back to kill her and bring back my past-self to live happily ever after," she muttered, a hint of sarcasm dripping into the last few words.

Rick, Ardeth and Evelyn finally reached the balcony, from where they could see what was going on below.

"You know, a couple of years ago, this would have seemed really strange to me," said Rick as he walked past his two companions.

Down below, the chest was being opened by Lock-Nah, the Curator standing right behind him.

"Imhotep will be much pleased," said the Curator, a smirk etched across his aged face.

The lid slowly being lifted, both the Curator and Lock-Nah leaned forward in anticipation, only to find the chest bracelet-free, a statue in its place.

"Where is the bracelet?" the Curator demanded.

Lock-Nah, eye twitching, clenched his jaw, biceps flexing as his hands balled up into fists while resting on either side of the chest. "I think I know."

**********************************************************

Outside, in the car, were Jonathan and his nephew, sitting in the convertible, chatting quite animatedly. 

"On the very top of the gold pyramid was a huge diamond!"

"How huge is huge?" Jonathan asked.

"It was so big, it could reflect the sun and warn distant travelers."

**********************************************************

Back where the ritual had taken place, Meela smirked as she got closer to the mummy. 

" _I have a gift for you_ ," she told him.

Their heads turned to look over at Annabella who looked like a deer caught in the headlights. 

" _Hallo, noch einmal!_ " **(Hello again!)**  Anna blinked when she realized what she had just said; why the hell did it come out in German? "Uh... I meant... _hey_! What's up? Long time no see..." She coughed uncomfortably, doing her best to look away from the walking corpse.

"Thank God for that," she added under her breath, trying hard not to gag; even after so long, the idea of a walking dead guy, let alone one that had kissed her a few years ago while still in a decaying state, really disgusted her.

" _Her_ ," Imhotep grunted.

"I have a name," Anna muttered, though of course her words were ignored.

" _I know it would please you to watch her die_ ," said Meela.

Anna’s head snapped upward as she stared at her with wide eyes; she still could not shake the disbelief at the fact that the woman she had saved all those years ago was trying to kill her. Why the hell was the universe so against her?

"Really? After everything we've been through?" Anna huffed. "Some get together," she muttered.

Annabella soon found herself panicking after letting out a surprised yelp when some of the men picked her up with the board she was on. She tried to release herself from the ropes, but her attempts were to no avail.

"Are you so insensitive?! I'm a mother! You'd be leaving a child motherless— that is never good!"

She kept trying to come up with excuses valuable enough for them to let her go, but her negotiating skills she'd had in her earlier years were drifting away in the moment as all she could think about was her siblings, her husband, her son and the eight-week old embryo in her stomach. She couldn't lose the baby just because of a grudge held for over three millennia... plus ten years.

Some of the other men parted as Meela and the mummy walked through, followed by those who were carrying the ivory-skinned woman up toward a flaming pit.

"Oh, my God," she mumbled, mind going haywire.

" _A new world awaits for you, my queen_ ," said Imhotep, a smirk plastered on his disgustingly decayed face.

"You wait, I'll put you in your grave again!" she said angrily.

"Not if we put you in your grave first," said the Curator, smirking.

"Shut your little ol' smart-ass mouth, you!" Anna grunted, sweat creasing onto her forehead from the heat radiating out of the flaming pit. "God, I'm turning into Rick," she muttered.

" _Bring her to me her_ ," said Imhotep.

"Burn her!" Meela translated wrongly.

"You bastards!" She leaned her body backwards as they tilted the board forward toward the flames, though just as she was about to fall in, a figure jumped through. "Rick!"

Said man caught his wife, incidentally hitting the board, causing those who were holding it to fall back just as Ardeth and Evelyn opened fire from where they stood up on the balcony.

Imhotep glanced around, then growled when he noticed the pair upstairs, backing up the Anna and Rick.

The Curator dodged bullets. Lock-Nah picked up a gun and handed it over to Meela, who, once she had it in her hands, fired at Ardeth and Evelyn.

**********************************************************

The shots were heard all the way to the entrance of the museum, and when Alex and his uncle heard them, they quickly shared a look before jumping off the front of the car and stumbling to open the door.

Once inside the vehicle, both started to argue as Jonathan's hand shook while trying to put the key in the ignition.

"Come on, come on!" Alex urged him.

"If there is going to be any hysterics they are going to come from me."

Just as he said that, the key broke.

"Uncle Jon!"

**********************************************************

Behind a few crates, Rick quickly proceeded to untie Anna from her restraints. He then pulled out a gun and started to reload it, both slightly oblivious of the bullets that were starting to rip holes into the crates they were sheltering behind, getting closer and closer to Rick's head until Anna pulled his body away, glaring at him.

"You really got to stop doing that," she grunted.

"You love me for it."

"I love you more when you’re intactly alive, _Richard_ ," the archeologist grumbled.

As he thought of something else to reply, Rick peeked out from behind the crate, aiming to shoot at someone. Incidentally, he froze for a moment when his eyes landed on the mummy, who recognized him at the same time as Rick recognized him.

" _You!_ " Imhotep growled.

"Not _you_!" Rick groaned before firing. His shot hit the mummy on the shoulder, and he would've fired more, if it hadn't been for the bullets shot his way. He went back behind the crates and handed a gun to Anna. Sharing a nod, both left their hiding spot, shooting their way out.

Seeing boxes with formaldehyde written on it, Anna quickly shot at them, causing them to explode behind the men; fire shot into the air, engulfing the men in red.

Anna and Rick ran up the stairs, still firing. The mummy walked past the men covered in fire, pushing them out of the way as another explosion rocked the museum. The other men and Meela ducked as more flames shot behind them.

"Go, go, go!" Rick urged as he and Anna finally reached Ardeth and Evelyn.

Anna's eyes widened at the sight of her sister. "Evelyn?" She turned to glare at her husband. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Not now, Annie, keep going," he replied.

Imhotep picked up an enormous urn and said, " _Collect your bones, gather your limbs._ " He held the urn, the flames roaring behind him. " _Shake the earth from your flesh; your master is here!_ "

He took the lid off the urn and a dust-like substance poured out of it, flying forward to form four enormous mummies in front of the great one himself. 

Anna, Rick, Ardeth and Evelyn watched from the balcony, eyes widening.

"Run?" Evelyn asked, though she already knew the answer.

"Run!" Anna and Rick replied in unison, and the four of them ran.

" _Destroy them_ ," Imhotep ordered. The four mummies were motionless for a second, then shifted their stances, readying themselves to charge.

"Oh, no, not these guys again," Rick grunted.

The four mummies let out an ear-piercing shriek before launching themselves into pursuit.

The front door of the museum burst open and Rick ran out, the other three on his heels, though Evelyn stopped short, ran back and pulled on the bench right by the door to block the entrance.

Anna ran back and grabbed her by the arm. "Evie, whatcha doing? These guys don't use doors."

They ran around the side of the building to Rick's car, only to find the vehicle empty.

"Jon? Alex?" Evelyn called out.

Anna looked over at Rick in disbelief. "You brought Alex too? What is wrong with you?!"

"Honey, we're running from savage corpses right now."

Before Anna could reply, a loud honk filled the air. The four turned to see a Double-Decker bus pull, Jonathan in the driver's seat.

"Hello, mates," the lad greeted them.

"What's the matter with my car?" Rick demanded.

"I was forced to use alternative transportation," Jonathan said, a bit uneasy.

"A _double-decker_   _bus_?!"

Jonathan's mouth opened, then closed, and did so a few times before he finally said, "It was his idea!" pointing at his nephew.

"Was not," Alex replied.

"Was too."

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Forget the car, forget the blame and just go!" Anna yelled, pulling the other three toward the doors of the bus as Jonathan began to drive again, still arguing with his nephew.

The four mummies broke out from the walls of the museum and ran after the retreating bus, jumping everything in their way, not really caring if they damaged anything since their dead and void of feeling or sense of right and wrong.

They jumped over a car, swung around the corner, missing another. Rick hung off the platform of the bus and saw a mummy heading toward them, but that wasn't what caught his attention as that was nothing new. It was the fact that his car was right in front of it.

"No, no, no, not my car!" he exclaimed miserably as it jumped over it, crushing it in the process.

Rick pulled himself back into the bus and glared at the retched creatures from the back window of the enormous convertible. "Oh, I hate mummies," he muttered.

Anna groaned. "Tell me about it; they're much more fun when they're dead."

"And a thousand feet underground," Evelyn chimed in, looking at the creatures, eyes wide in alert.

"Glad to see me now?" Ardeth asked. 

Rick let out a humorless chuckle. "Just like old times, huh?"


	5. Rolling down the bridge

Rick climbed the stairs of the double-decker bus and sat down at the back window. The four soldier-mummies ran behind the bus. They were very fast. He began to fire ruthlessly at the mummies, which were now jumping from building to building on the columned walls. Then, one mummy jumped on the top of the bus. From a window, Rick shot into its face. He couldn't kill the mummy, but he could stop it. The mummy looked at Rick with half a face and climbed in through a window.

At the same time, Ardeth saw two mummies at his window and shot off their legs, creating a splashing sound.

"Oh, that is just disgusting!" Jonathan exclaimed.

"Jonathan!" his sisters shouted.

"Sorry."

The legs of the mummies fell into the street, but the mummies moved down the bus with their hands. Ardeth quickly fired repeatedly until one of the mummies finally fell out, though one remained.

Both, Alex and Evelyn, saw the mummy inside the bus and shouted, "Turn! Turn!" at Jonathan.

When the bus suddenly turned, the mummy slipped out of the bus, causing them to sigh in relief and turn their attention back on the road before them, unaware that the violent turn had also benefited Rick as the mummies that had been on the roof lost their balance and fell off the bus as well. But Rick knew they weren't dead... well, deader than they already are. He took that moment to quickly load his gun before he began to fire again at the roof of the bus the second one of the mummies landed upon it.

Jonathan drove, silently panicking as he saw another of the mummies roll down the street through the rear-view mirror. He, along with his sisters and nephew, jumped in surprise as Ardeth suddenly yelled. They glanced back at the Medjai and screamed when they saw half a mummy had gotten onto the bus and had begun attacking the latter after knocking his gun off his hands.

Anna quickly grabbed the gun from the inside pocket of her brother's blazer— the idiot had one, but never even used it, not even to save his own life— and quickly aimed at the mummy that had just thrown Ardeth across the bus. Stepping to the side quickly, to avoid having Ardeth fall on her, she stepped back into her former position, after he landed, jumped over the man and began to fire repeatedly at the mummy as she advanced it. She didn't miss a single shot, but, unfortunately for her, she seemed to recall a little too late that she was firing at an undead creature when she ran out of bullets. She glanced down at the revolver in her hand when no bullets came out, then glanced back up, wide-eyed, at the mummy, which was barely a foot away from her. Her breath got caught up in her throat when it knocked the firearm out of her hand. She watched as it skipped across the floor of the bus, then looked back at the mummy, drew her fist back and let it snap into its disgusting face.

"Why don't you just drive like a wild-man, Jonathan?!" Anna exclaimed sarcastically before letting out a yelp when the mummy she'd been fighting jumped onto her and the fight picked off where it had left.

Clenching her jaw, Anna began to think, despite the circumstances she was currently in. Yes, she was fighting a mummy— only its upper body at that, but she had to end this. The moves and fighting styles she knew would only be able to end the live of a living being, but— she was fighting half a mummy! Surely it would at least be of some help to finish it off.

She threw one quick glance over her shoulder and said in a firm turn. "Evelyn, cover Alex's eyes." Her sister ignored her nephew's complaints and wasted no time in obliging to her sister's order.

"While you're at it, cover yours too." Evelyn did so as well.

"What about me?!" Jonathan exclaimed.

"Keep driving!" Anna, Evelyn and Ardeth found themselves exclaiming at the same time.

"Ardeth find another gun or something!" Anna exclaimed as she dodged a blow from the mummy.

She then spun, bringing her leg up and letting it smash in a side kick at the back of its head. She took a step back in a balancing position and stared at the now immobile mummy whose head had been knocked to the side in an odd angle. She stared at it for a moment with guarded eyes before finally relaxing her position, though, just as she turned around, she felt a movement behind her.

"Anna!" Evelyn and Ardeth exclaimed.

She quickly spun back around in time to dodge one blow, but as she dodged one, she got hit by another, being thrown back into one of the seats.

"Why don't you just die already?" she muttered. She tried to get back up, but then stopped trying and let out a surprised gasp when she suddenly started feeling an inexplicable pain in her stomach.

The two mummies then fell on her and began to claw at her arms and face with their long, yellow finger nails that were as sharp as blades.

Anna gasped in pain. "Ah!"

"Mum!" Alex shouted, trying to run forward, only to be held back by Evelyn who shouted at her brother "Turn! Turn! Turn!" once again, not only because of the terrifying scene unfolding before them, but also because of the noise she heard from above.

Ardeth came running forward but was once again knocked back to where Evelyn and Alex stood beside Jonathan, who was still trying to remain as calm as he possibly could as he drove. Grunting, Ardeth pushed himself back onto his feet, though, by the time he did so, Evelyn had already taken his gun and shot at the mummy, rather wildly, till its head flew out the window. Ardeth looked back at the woman, eyes raised in surprise as he looked at her in a new light. Shaking out of his daze, he quickly pushed the rest of the mummy through the door, and it fell onto the street.

Evelyn then heard a noise above her again and shouted at her brother, once more, "Turn! Turn! Turn!"

**********************************************************

Above them, Rick fought with the mummy with half a face. The mummy was stronger than Rick. It took him in its arms and hit his head on the top of the bus. Suddenly, the bus turned again, and Rick had a minute. He got his gun and shot the mummy again and again. But the mummy didn't stop. It threw Rick to the floor. It put one foot on Rick's gun and one on his head.

**********************************************************

Jonathan took a sharp turn, causing his sister, nephew and Ardeth to lose their footing and fall onto the cold floor of the bus.

Anna silently gasped in pain again, though did not go unnoticed by Ardeth, who came to help her up as soon as he was back on his feet.

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

She clenched her teeth, breathing heavily as the pain in her stomach only increased. "I'm fine." She saw the look on his face and sighed. "I'll be fine. Just don't let me be of any liability." She placed a subtle hand over her stomach. "Now was really bad timing for mummies to come back to life."

Though her gesture was subtle, Ardeth noticed it. "You're expecting, aren't you." She looked at him and nodded. "I'll will protect you and the creature inside of you as best as I can. You have my word."

Anna gave him a small appreciative smile. "You really need to update your vocabulary," she commented, referring to him calling the fetus in her stomach a creature. That got a smile out of him, despite the current circumstances. "But thank you."

Up from the driver's seat, Jonathan saw a bridge in front of them.

"Oh, no!" he exclaimed.

Anna, Ardeth, Evelyn and Alex turned to look at him, alarmed. "What?!"

"That bridge isn't very high."

Alex gave his uncle a disbelieving look. "No one cares, just keep driving!" he exclaimed as his mother walked over to them, leaving the Medjai, who was starting to feel a bit ill, behind.

The bus hit the bridge hard.

On the upper deck, Rick quickly tried to reload his gun, but, to his misfortune, it was knocked from his hands and he found himself engaging into a hand-to-hand battle with the undead servant. After a moment, he was knocked onto a seat, hitting his head on the edge of a window. Slightly disoriented, he looked back at the mummy and felt his eyes widen as the latter extended its fingernails into claws. Fortunately for him, just as the creature was about to claw at him, the bus raced under the bride and had its roof ripped off while passing under it, resulting in the mummy sticking, squashed, against the side of the bridge the bus went through before falling onto the ground like a sheet of paper.

Rick climbed out of the debris of stood on the now open upper deck of the bus, which was now driving on the tower bridge of London. Walking over the ruined seats and broken glass, he walked down the stairs to the main deck as the bus slowed down.

Alex walked out of his aunt's arms and patted his uncle on the shoulder. "Great driving, Uncle Jon!" Jonathan nodded breathlessly as he and his nephew shared a hug before the boy gave him a light slap on the cheek as though to keep him alert, but also to say that he did a good job.

Rick slowly reached the last steps of the stairs. He looked to the side of the bus and found Ardeth leaning tiredly against it, looking quite nauseous. He gave him a nod, a slightly amused look on his face. "You alright?" he asked.

Ardeth, though slightly in daze, gave him a look that stretched between amusement and bemusement. "This was my first bus ride."

Rick chuckled, shaking his head, then walked over to his wife who had beckoned him over to her.

He gave Jonathan a nod and a tired grin. "You're a great driver, Jonathan," he said before turning to the others. "Is everybody okay?"

"We're okay, but I hate mummies!" said Alex. He smiled at his dad, then sat next to Jonathan, near a window as Evelyn walked over to the Medjai. The latter looked up and smiled slightly at the woman.

"That was some wild chase, wasn't it?" Evelyn said as she took a settled on an empty seat near the Medjai.

Ardeth chuckled, nodding his head in agreement, as he sat down beside her. "My first that wasn't on my steed."

Evelyn noticed how beat he was and straightened her posture, concerned. "Are you alright? You were in quite a fight there."

Ardeth gave her a small smile. "Nothing I can't handle." He paused for a moment before his smile turned into a tired grin. "You have a way with firearms."

Evelyn could feel her cheeks heating up as she giggled a bit nervously, mentally cursing herself. How is it that a man she hadn't seen in so long made her feel like a lovesick school girl again? "Well, my-um... my sister taught me. Along with Rick."

"Well, you were amazing."

Rick looked over at Anna and noticed the scratches on her face and arms. He reached out and gently touched her, basically caressing her. "You're hurt."

She gave him a small smile as he stepped closer. "I'm fine."

"They managed to claw at you, Anna," he murmured in disagreement as he stepped closer.

Anna gave her husband a tender look as she beckoned him closer with her finger, then wrapped her arms around his neck, glad the pain in her stomach had faded. "What would I do without you?" she murmured.

Alex jumped off from where he sat, rolling his eyes at his parents. "Get a life," he muttered.

He walked to the back of the bus, with a disgusted grimace, all the way to the bottom of the stairs that led to the upper deck. He looked back at his parents, only to look away immediately, rolling his eyes as he'd caught them sharing a passionate kiss. He glanced up the stairs at the damage left behind, then let out a loud gasp when he was suddenly pulled off the bus, catching his parents attention.

"Alex!"

The O'Connells ran out after him, the Medjai and the oldest and youngest Carnahan not far behind. Anna had to stop running half-way as the pain she had been previously feeling was coming back. Her siblings and the Medjai stopped halfway as well to see if she was alright, but she paid them no mind as she watched her husband running after their son.

Anna saw one of the men from the car fire at the operator, the force of the shot pushing button to raise the bridge. The car slowed and Lock-Nah practically threw the boy in before jumping in himself as the car began to speed off.

"Stop, stop, stop!" she could hear Rick shouting.

She subconsciously grabbed onto Jonathan as she watched Rick push himself to run faster as the bridge began to separate. He managed to jump to the other side, but, it was too late. Rick could feel tears threatening to fall from his eyes as he clung onto the ledge of the bridge, watching the car drive away.

The others waited.

About five minutes had passed, and, when the bridge finally started to lower again, and they only saw Rick on the other side, Anna just broke down into tears in her brother's shoulder, her sister placing a comforting hand on her arm. The wife and mother was torn between happiness, and fear and anger. Happiness because Rick was alright, but fear and anger because she knew that, within a matter of time, her son would find himself in the presence of her first immortal enemy ever— the horribly gorgeous, fully regenerated, previously mummified, two-timing freak, whom she'd despised greatly since they encountered him all those years ago.


	6. Magic Carpet

Gazing out from the balcony of the museum as the building and house lights, and street lanterns, lit the dark streets of London, Imhotep stood with Meela at his side. For the first time in quite a long time, he felt conflicted, though the conflict going on within him diminished when his eyes locked with those dark orbs of his lover's reincarnation.

" _I shall go to Ahm Shere_ ," he told her in his mother tongue. " _And kill the Scorpion King_."

Soon they were joined by the Curator, but Meela and Imhotep paid him no attention.

" _And with his army we shall rule the world_ ," said Meela, a smirk on her face. " _Together_."

" _My Lord_ ," said the Curator, making the pair turn his way. " _There is something you should know. They have the scepter of Osiris, I have seen it._ "

Imhotep huffed, uncaring. " _By the time we reach Ahm Shere, my powers will have regenerated_ ," said Imhotep as he turned back to Meela and began to move closer to her. " _We will have no need for the scepter_."

She leaned backward as he leaned forward, and, then, the next thing she knew, she was no longer standing on the museum's balcony. Instead, she found herself on standing on a beautiful balcony with confused, sparkling eyes. She glanced down at her slightly shivering self, feeling strangely revealing, and felt her jaw drop open as she noticed what she was wearing.

Her body was covered in what appeared to be a skin-tight dress, though it wasn't, in fact, a dress at all, but rather her entire naked body that had been painted in the ancient Egyptian manner. She was a stunning sight to behold.  
  
Frowning slightly as she was still confused, she shifted her gaze back up and found her breath getting caught up in her throat as her dark eyes locked themselves with bright blue orbs.

He stood before her and looked deeply into her eyes, his own filled with so many emotions that made her knees weaken. The man was tall, handsome and muscular, and had the brightest blue eyes one could easily get lost in. Both smirked at each other before closing the distance in between them, crashing their lips together, sharing a passionate and feverish kiss.

They were soon back on the balcony of the museum in London, and Meela was kissing the Mummy's rotten lips, though, she did not seem to care as, in her mind, she was still kissing the incredibly gorgeous High Priest of Osiris.

**********************************************************

As soon as the bridge was fully connected anew, Annabella ran forward and into Rick's arms, whom held her tightly against him, as Evelyn, Jonathan and Ardeth hurried over to them.

"Please do not fear for your son, my friends," said Ardeth, reassuringly. "They cannot hurt him for he wears the bracelet."

Alarmed by the news, Anna looked up at Rick with wide eyes. "Alex is wearing the bracelet?" she whispered.

Rick sighed. "When he put it on, he said he saw the pyramids at Giza then the temple at Karnak," he said.

Ardeth nodded. "Yes, and when they reach Karnak, the bracelet will show him the next step of the journey."

"If we don't get to Karnak before them, we won't have any idea where to look for them next," said Evelyn.

Annabella nodded in agreement. "At Karnak, the bracelet will show him the next place. In the end, it will take him to Ahm Shere," she said. "But we have to follow him. There's no map to Ahm Shere."

"First, how _can_ we get to Karnak?" asked Jonathan.

Rick smiled wryly. "Seems to me we need a magic carpet."

**********************************************************

On a train, in the middle of the Egyptian desert, Alex was bound securely, seated nearby Lock-Nah, who was glaring down at him. Meela, who kept glancing through the window she was seated beside as they passed through Cairo, sat at the other end of the wagon with the Curator standing just a few feet away from her.

Glancing down the lounge-looking wagon, the Curator looked at the dark-skinned man as though to make sure he was listening, even though he was sitting far away from them, before looking back at Meela and the soldiers that were working for them, who were standing around them. Never did he, however, glance toward the boy who was glaring at him almost as intently as he was being glared at by Lock-Nah.

"When Imhotep first encountered the O'Connells, they sent his immortal soul to the underworld," said the Curator.

Alex listened carefully; his parents and aunt never did get around to telling him the whole story. His uncle told it to him many times, but everyone knows how Jonathan is; he changes the whole story, so he comes out the hero.

"As powerful as he will become," the Curator continued. "He is still vulnerable. Only with the army of Anubis will he be invincible. He will need your help." He turned and walked over to Meela, sitting down beside her as one of their man brought him a Black Book.

He grabbed it and looked down at it as though it were sacred (... which it was), Meela looking down at it from where she sat beside him. "Keep this with you always," he told her.

Finally, Lock-Nah stood from his seat and picked Alex up into his arms so he wouldn't run, then carried him over to them. The boy struggled in the man's arms, though he calmed down slightly when he noticed and recognized the large book in Meela's hands.

"Hey, the Book of the Dead!" he exclaimed himself, though he quickly stopped talking when Meela and the Curator turned and looked at him as Lock-Nah put him down on his feet.

The woman's lips curled up into an indecipherable smile as she rose from her seat. "What a bright little child," she said, walking over to the boy. Her voice was smooth, and would've been considered almost angelic, if it weren't for the evil glint in her eyes. She knelt down beside him and placed a tender hand upon his head. "Your mother must be missing you terribly. If you wish to see her again, you'd better behave."

Alex scoffed, shaking her hand off his head. "Lady, I don't even behave for my parents, what makes you think I'm going to do it for you?"

But Meela looked merely amused as placed a thin finger under his chin and forced him to look at her. "Because your parents wouldn't slip poisonous snakes in your bed," she paused and kissed his cheek, a devious look on her face. "When you are sleeping."

"Lord Imhotep wishes to meet the boy," the Curator announced.

Lock-Nah smirked as he grabbed the boy roughly and pushed him forward. "Now we will see how brave you are."

Alex groaned. "Hey! Watch the suit!" he exclaimed as Lock-Nah pushed him to the other end of the train and into Imhotep's cart.

At the same time, the door of Meela's cart opened and Red, Jacques, and Spivey pushed inside. Red carried another interesting old box. It was from the most important museum in Cairo.

"Did you acquire what we asked?" the Curator demanded.

"Oh, we acquired it alright. You know what? We had to kill two of those guards at the mausoleum to acquire it," said Red.

"The chest must not be opened," said Jacques, kneeling beside it. "It is cursed. If it is ope—"

"Yes, yes and the creature will suck them dry and he will be whole again we've heard the story before," said the Curator, cutting him off with an eye roll.

"We heard the yanks who found it nine years ago all died," Red insisted in his terribly dramatic tone, a smirk on his face. "Horrible deaths they were so with that in mind."

"We want ten thousand," Spivey chimed in, resting his foot on the chest, only to have Jacques slap it off, muttering under his breath in another language.

The Curator gave them a hard look. "The agreement was for fi—"

"We want ten," said Red. "Or we take it elsewhere."

The Curator glared at him, taking a threatening step forward. "You—"

But Meela held him back and gave the men a smile. "Ten will be just fine," she assured them. "Follow me, gentlemen."

**********************************************************

At the other end of the train, Alex looked around the dark car and saw the back of a tall man. But when the man turned around, Alex saw a face with no eyes in it. It was the face of Imhotep, the undead... actually, he was wearing a mask, but Alex was scared either way of finding out what was underneath it.

" _I know you can understand me little one_ ," said Imhotep in ancient Egyptian.

Alex would've protested if it weren't otherwise true, but he kept his mouth shut, his insides twisting in fright.

" _So, you must listen carefully because_ ," and he switched to English, much to Alex's surprise. "It is you who are the chosen one, you who will take me to Ahm Shere."

Even Lock-Nah looked scared at this point as Imhotep waved his hand, causing Alex's wrist engulfed by the bracelet to levitate against his will. Alex watched the somewhat magical action with widened eyes, then looked up, scared as the man before him bent down and took his hand.

"And... if I don't?" Alex said quickly, afraid the man might do something bad to him in that moment. "What if I get a little... lost?"

Imhotep laughed. "You have strength little one. You are your father's son. But I know something you don't. This bracelet," he said, levitating the boy's wrist once again. "Is a gift and a curse." He picked up an hour glass and turned it over, then stood it down on a table. "The sands of time have already begun to pour against you."

Alex rolled his eyes, stepping away from the masked man. "Yeah, yeah, I already know that the minute I put the bracelet on, seven days do I have before the scorpion King wakes up."

"Did you also know that if you do not enter the pyramid before the sun rises on that very morning, that the bracelet will suck the life out of you?"

Alex's eyes widened in terror. "That bit I missed." He then frowned as he thought for a moment before his eyes widened again in realization. "Hey! Wait a minute! That means I've only got five days!"

"Then I believe it would be best for you if you don t get lost, don't you?"

Alex glared at him. "My mum and dad are going to kick your arse."

Imhotep sighed and looked down for almost half a second, before looking back at the boy, choosing to reveal himself; he took off the mask, and, at the sight of the terrifying, smirking rotten face, Alex took a step back, eyes widened in fright.

"I do not think so," the Mummy glowered.

**********************************************************

_Gazing out over a city at the setting sun was a gorgeous, ivory-skinned goddess, standing on a beautiful balcony with confused, sparkling eyes. It was Annabella O'Connell, of course. The city displayed before her pertained a hint of familiarity, but she did not know where she was, nor could she understand what she was doing there._

_She glanced down at her slightly shivering self, feeling strangely revealing, and felt her jaw clench as she noticed the familiar attire she was wearing._

_Actually, it was not really an attire. Her body was covered in what appeared to be a skin-tight dress, though it wasn't, in fact, a dress at all, but rather her entire naked body that had been painted in the ancient Egyptian manner. She was a stunning sight to behold, and even though she usually wore slightly revealing clothes, this was not comfortable for her at all._

_Frowning, she shifted her gaze back at the beautiful view when it finally clicked in her mind, and though she wasn't one hundred percent sure of herself, she had her suspicions. This had to be Thebes. Home of her ancestors. Home of Nebetia._

_She was snapped out of her thoughts by quiet footsteps making their way toward her. Turning her head to glance at the open, large double wooden doors, her hazel green-speckled eyes locked themselves with warm brown orbs._

_"Anck-Su-Namun," the name slipped from her lips with an edge of fondness in her tone. Anna couldn't understand why she spoke so fondly to this woman, but then she remembered this was a dream. It had to be, and if it was, that meant that she was not herself but Nebetia._

_The olive-skinned young maiden standing before her smiled. "Nebetia."_

_Yup, definitely not herself._

_"Does my father call for me?"_

_Anck-Su-Namun shook her head. "No, I have just come to let you know that the king of Alamut has sent word of his journey. He will be arriving in a few days."_

_Nebetia smiled. "I am impatient," she said as Anck-Su-Namun walked to stand beside her. "It has been so long since I have seen Tamina."_

_"And the king," Anck-Su-Namun added, amused._

_"... him too."_

_They both laughed._

_"Do you think he will sign the treaty this time?" Anck-Su-Namun asked._

_The ivory-skinned princess sighed, gazing back out at her beautiful city. "I hope so. I would hate to be at war against a friend."_

_They were silent for a moment._

_"Have you heard from the King of Persia?"_

_Nebetia shook her head. "I have heard_ of _him, but I have been refrained from knowing any further than who he is."_

_"Perhaps your father is simply looking out for you."_

_Nebetia gave a small smile. "Perhaps. But even my Priest is keeping this knowledge from me. I should know these things since I will be my father's successor soon."_

_"Are you nervous?" Anck-Su-Namun asked softly._

_Nebetia sighed. "I shan't deny it. My brother was supposed to be the one. Instead of training today, he is in his third year of decay in his sarcophagus, after being killed in his sleep," she said with a small laugh. She quickly stopped herself when she realized it and cleared her throat. "I shouldn't be laughing."_

_"Nebetia..."_

_"I really shouldn't be laughing, that's terrible."_

_Anck-Su-Namun stepped closer to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I know you are to be the Pharaoh's successor soon. I know it means you must work hard to not let your feelings mingle with your duty. But you're allowed to smile, you know. You're allowed to laugh," she said softly. "Neither doesn't make bad things worse any more than crying makes them better. But it doesn't mean you don't care, or that you have forgotten. It just means you are human, and you shouldn't be afraid of that. You have me, your father, your Priest... Nefertiri. You are not alone in this."_

_Nebetia turned to look back at her friend and smiled. "Thank you, my friend."_

_Anck-Su-Namun smiled back and nodded toward the foyer. "We should go and change. Pharaoh Seti will soon be choosing who will be protecting the bracelet of Anubis with you."_

"Anna."

Her eyes snapped open, though instantly shut once again as the sun fired at her face with brightness.

They were such good friends... what went wrong? Anna wondered as she squinted her eyes. She found her husband standing before her, looking down at her with soft eyes.

"We're here," said Rick.

Anna sat up slightly from where she practically laid in her seat of the car they had rented and glanced around. They were in the desert near Cairo, where was located a slightly wrecked camp.

"This is the magic carpet?" Anna asked, slightly skeptical.

Rick gave her a reassuring smile as he helped her out of the car. "It'll be fine, he's a professional—"

Evelyn let out a slightly unladylike snort as she walked around the car to stand beside them. "I don't know what's worst; the fact that this place looks nothing like a magic carpet, or that it's actually called 'Magic Carpet'."

"You forgot 'Airways'," Jonathan chimed in, a grin on his face as he laughed lightly with his little sister. Anna simply chuckled while Rick rolled his eyes at the youngest and oldest Carnahan, and walked ahead to meet his old friend, Izzy, after ten years.

A small, thin black man, Izzy Buttons had gold teeth and wore the garb typical of an aircraft pilot: a light-colored jacket over an undershirt and trousers with brown shin guards and black shoes; Izzy also wore an aviator's hat and an eye-patch.

The little man had been smiling to himself, though his smile quickly left his face the instant he saw Rick.

Rick smiled. "Izzy—" But the man had no intention of reuniting with the American. He ran back to his camp and slammed the large wooden doors shut. "Hey!"

The lock turning was loudly audible, causing the youngest and oldest Carnahan to snicker at the man's reaction while Annabella turned to her husband, hands on her hips and eyebrows raised in an unimpressed manner.

"Well, he definitely remembers you," she retorted.

"He's a little shy," Rick tried before turning to his brother in law. "Jonathan get the bags."

"My hands are full."

Rick turned and saw the golden stick the old Carnahan was holding. Rolling his eyes at him, he snatched it from his hands and pointed toward the car. "Now."

"Right, I'll get the bags," said Jonathan in a shaky voice, knowing that if he didn't comply, he would surely get punched in the face.

Rick then turned to his wife. "I'll deal with the flight details."

"And by dealing you mean there will be shooting and threatening," said Anna.

Rick gave her a cheeky grin and kissed her quickly. "Are you a mind reader?"

"No, I've just been married to you for nine years," she replied as he brought out his gun. He aimed it at the door lock and fired at it, causing Anna to sigh. "Honey, you're not a subtle man."

Rick grunted as he put his gun away and walked forward. "We don't have time to be subtle, Anna," he said before kicking the door open.

The couple started walking down the steps with Evelyn following right behind.

"Doesn't look happy to see you," she commented as the three of them watched the man rush around panickingly.

"Never turned me down yet," Rick replied.

"Whatever it is, whatever you need, I don't care, forget it O'Connell! You'll get nothing from me. You always bring problems."

"Look at that— he's turned you down now," Evelyn pointed.

"Evelyn," Rick grunted before turning his attention back to the pilot. "Izzy, we're friends. We have to have an airplane. It's important."

"When I do a job with you, I almost die. Every time! Last time I got shot in the arse, I'm in mourning for my arse! Remember that bank job in Marrakesh? You're dangerous!" said Izzy.

Anna gave her husband a blank look. "Bank job?" she said.

"It's not like it sounds," Rick said defensively.

"Oh, it's exactly how it sounds. I'm flying high, hiding in the sun, wild boy here flags me down, so I fly low; the next thing you know, I get shot. I'm laying on the road with my spleen hanging out. I see him going off with some belly dancer girl."

Anna looked unimpressed by this. "Belly dancer girl? Izzy, I think you and I should talk."

"As long as I don't get shot."

Rick rolled his eyes and threw over some money to Izzy. "Quit your whining, you're gonna get paid this time."

Izzy gave the married man a look of disbelief. "O'Connell you've looked round here, what do I need money for? What the hell am I going to spend it on?" he asked as he grabbed the money anyway.

Evelyn sighed impatiently. She glanced around, her nose scrunching slightly. She tugged on her sister's arm and nodded to what she was looking at. Following her gaze, Anna found herself scrunching her nose as well in slight disgust when she found a man in a bath, reading a paper while scrubbing down his body.

"I'm gonna keep this short," said Rick, his gaze on the little man holding nothing but seriousness as he spoke. "My little boy's out there, and I'm gonna do whatever it takes to get him back."

Izzy heard, but he was only staring at stick. Realizing this, Rick moved it around and saw Izzy follow it with his eyes.

"Izzy!"

"You give me that stick there, you can shag my head, wax my legs and use me for a surf board," the little man negotiated.

"Didn't we do that in Tripoli?" Rick threw the stick at the man whom caught it clumsily and stared at it in daze. Rick stepped forward, his face filling with concern. "Say, when did you lose your eye."

Izzy looked up at him and laughed. "Oh, I didn't," he said, lifting his eye-patch. "Just thought it made me look a bit more dashing."

Exasperated, Rick snatched it off his eye and chucked it to the ground. "Come on, get to work."

And the five of them began to walk around the camp.

"You know, you haven't caught me at my best," said Izzy.

"Oh, I'm sure we have," Evelyn muttered.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of stomping hooves approaching. Ardeth Bay and twelve more Medjai stopped in front of the campsite.

"Oh, I knew it; I'm gonna get shot," Izzy muttered.

"O'Connell!" shouted Ardeth. "These are the commanders of the twelve tribes of the Medjai. Horus."

A hawk suddenly flew off one of their hands to Ardeth, landing on his forearm.

"Pet bird," said Jonathan.

Ardeth smiled. "My best and most close friend. He will let the commanders know of our progress, so that they may follow. They will help fight the mummy and the soldiers of Anubis, shall the army arise. You will not always see them, but they will be near you."

The twelve men then went away across the desert, leaving Ardeth and Horus with the O'Connells and Carnahans.

"Thanks, my friend," said Rick. "Let's go. We can't lose more time."

"You're sure he's reliable?" Anna asked him, nodding toward the little man.

"Of course he's reliable... ish." He gave her a cheeky smile when he saw the unimpressed look on her face. "Izzy?"

"Right, right! Right this way," said Izzy rather excitedly. "I have a beautiful new machine. Look, it's behind this building."

Rick growled slightly at the sight that awaited them.

"Isn't she beautiful?"

"It's a balloon!"

"It's a dirigible," Izzy corrected.

"Where's your airplane?"

Izzy waved him off. "Airplanes are a thing of the past."

Annabella looked at her husband and sighed when she saw the resolve in his eyes. "Rick," she said warningly.

But he didn't listen. "Izzy, you were right," he said as he brought out his gun.

"I was?"

"You're gonna get shot."

Izzy instantly became defensive. "Whoa, she's faster than she looks. She's quiet, _really_ quiet, great for sneaking up on people, which is a very good thing. Unless, of course, we go for your approach: marching in, face first, guns blazing and getting your friends shot in the arse."

With a warning look from his wife, Rick accepted the explanation and put his gun away.

"Why can't you people ever keep your feet on the ground?" Ardeth wondered.

The balloon was soon found to be moving in the air, above the desert, passing pyramids, and being flown into the sunset. While Izzy commandeered the ship, Evelyn and Jonathan sat with Ardeth, talking quietly. They were soon joined by Rick, while Anna stayed away from the group, standing right at the apex of the bow railing, eyes closed, letting the chill wind clear her head.

"O'Connell doesn't want to believe he flies, like Horus, towards his destiny," she heard Ardeth say.

"Oh, yes, yes very interesting. Tell me some more about the gold pyramid," said Jonathan, earning himself an eyeroll from Evelyn and Rick.

Ardeth simply chuckled, amused. "Well, it is written that since the time of the Scorpion King, no man that has laid eyes upon, has ever returned to tell the tale."

Jonathan discretely reached for the gold stick that had been his, which he found laying behind him. "Where's all this stuff written— _Hello_!" He grinned as he caught the stick and brought it to his chest. "Got it pretty nice, eh? It's all I have left in the world, rest of my fortune was lost to rather unscrupulous characters actually."

"Let's just hope you don't lose that in a gamble as well," said Evelyn.

Ardeth nodded in agreement. "If the curator reacted to it the way you say: it must be very important. If I were you I would keep it close."

Jonathan scoffed with a proud look on his face. "My friend, the Gods couldn't take this away from me."

Suddenly, it was snatched from his grasp by none other than Izzy. "Hey, that's mine; keep your hands off it."

Ardeth and Evelyn laughed.

"Hey." Anna slowly turned her head around and found her husband standing there, looking down at her with those striking blue eyes of his. He stepped behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders, squeezing them slightly in a comforting manner.

"I want him back, Rick," she whispered. "I want him in my arms."

"I know. We taught him well; he's smarter than you, he's tougher than me."

"I love him so much, I just can't—"

"We both do," he cut her off, his voice deep and soft. "And Alex knows that. I'll get him back, Anna. I promise."

He wrapped his arms around her from behind, and they shared a chaste yet sweet kiss, like this, with her head turned and tilted back, surrendering to him, to the comfort he was giving her, to the reassurance, to the promise.

They pulled back and pressed their foreheads against each other, and she smiled slightly and looked up at him from under her long lashes as she spoke softly.

"I know you will."


	7. Long way from home

Meela walked into Imhotep's compartment come dawn and grunted in disgust at the three bodies that were lining the floor. She looked up when she felt a presence in front of her only to see a fully regenerated Imhotep walking towards her. She smiled at the handsome figure before bowing slightly, expecting him to lift her head up and smile warmly at her. Expecting him to tell her she didn't need to and shouldn't bow before him.

However, he did no such thing.

*******************************************

"Are we there yet?"

Lock-Nah clenched his jaw and glared at the little boy who sat in front of him, across the table. "No."

This conversation went on for a while, Alex repeating the question and Lock-Nah repeating his answer. The more it went on, the more the man grew angrier. Having had enough, with one swift move, Lock-Nah had brought out his dagger and stabbed it onto the table.

Alex watched with wide eyes as the blade landed between his middle and third finger. "Whoa! That was amazing!"

Lock-Nah huffed. "What are you talking about?" he said, removing his dagger from the table. "I missed."

Alex swallowed hard, his eyes widened with fear; he had never wanted to be home more than he did now.

_Annabella hummed, nodding her head. "Thought you would like it." She was about to turn around before halting, slightly hesitant about what she was about to say next. "Alex... how would you feel about... having another sibling?"_

_The nervousness in the boy's eyes instantly vanished when she said those words and lit up with excitement. "Really?!"_

_Anna smiled in relief, knowing he was okay with it. "Really."_

_"That'd be great, Mum!" he exclaimed._

Now he really wished he were back home with his parents.

"I need to go to the bathroom," the boy suddenly blurted out.

Lock-Nah gave him a hard look before grabbing Alex by the arm and leading him roughly down the hall toward the restroom. Once they arrived at the door, the man shoved the boy inside.

"Make it quick."

Noticing a pack of old papers hanging beside the dirty toilet, Alex's face lit up slightly as he snatched it up. "Hey reading material."

If you hadn't guessed yet, the boy loved reading.

Lock-Nah glared down at him. "Now."

The boy narrowed his eyes at him and replied smartly, "I can't go when someone is watching. I don't trust you; you'll look."

The man groaned. "Oh, for the love of— why would I—" Lock-Nah did not even bother to finish his sentence as he stormed out in an exasperated pace, leaving the boy to himself.

Alex looked around, then grimaced.

"Oh, my God; doesn't anyone around here know how to flush a toilet?" he exclaimed himself as his eyes widened at the sight of the dirtiest toilet he had ever seen in his entire life. And that's coming from him— the boy whose mother took to live with Native American woodland savages for a whole month when he was barely seven. Then, he'd thought that month to have been a real nightmare, but now he found himself reconsidering; the savages were much cleaner despite having no actual toilets.

The boy flushed the toilet, then stepped as far away from it as he possibly could, glancing around. Suddenly, his eyes caught sight of a little window, and for a moment there, he didn't think. He simply acted out of impulse... like his parents would. He climbed through the window and jumped off the train. When he stood up, everything hurt. But he could see the Temple of Karnak, and so he ran to it.

Behind him, Alex heard the train stop. Men shouted and ran after him. The boy arrived at the temple and ran inside. With the bracelet, Alex could see the Temple of Philae in the desert looking to be dated from two-thousand years before the Common Era, but he was quickly returned to 1933 when Imhotep now a man, not a mummy stood in front of him with Lock-Nah and Meela.

"You are a very bad boy," said Imhotep. "I will watch you die at Ahm Shere. I will enjoy that. Lock-Nah, take him outside."

*******************************************

Night began to flow in as the dirigible neared Karnak. The newly regenerated High Priest was ahead of the O'Connells and Carnahans by almost an entire day, but Annabella was no giving up. She'd been always gotten stuck in graver situations in the past, and yet she had always found a way out— with and without help; she was not about to give up on her precious child, not for anything in the world.

"If a man does not embrace his past he has no future," Ardeth's voice seemed almost faint to her as Anna barely paid her company any attention, her eyes gazing out into the distance from where she stood at the end of the balloon gondola.

"Even if I  _was_  some sort of sacred Medjai, what good does that do me now?" asked Rick.

"It is the missing piece of your heart," answered Ardeth. "If you embrace it— if you can accept it you can do anything."

Rick snorted slightly. "Sounds great," was his sarcastic reply before he asked, "What can we expect from our old friend Imhotep?"

The look in Ardeth's eyes darkened. "His powers are returning quickly," he spoke in a grave tone. "By the time he reaches Ahm Shere, even the Scorpion King won't be able to stop him."

The worry only seemed to increase as Annabella suddenly found the stars in the darkening sky take the form of her little boy's face.

She let out a deep sigh, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "I'm going mental," she muttered under her breath.

Suddenly, a wave of nausea hit her, causing her shoulders to hunch and her hand to fly to her slightly inflated stomach.

"Anna?" her sister asked, pushing herself slightly away from the railing she'd been leaning against, a few feet away from her sister. "Are you alright?"

Head bowed down and eyes shut tight, Anna lifted her hand that wasn't holding her stomach and brought it up, holding her index up in indication for her to wait. "Just... need a minute... it'll calm down."

Evelyn frowned in concern. "Are you sure? Maybe it's—"

"It's not," Anna cut her off. "I'm sure." She took a deep breath, then straightened her posture. "I'm fine, now. See? There's no need to worry."

The frown did not leave Evelyn's face, but she still somewhat trusted her sister's word, silently promising herself to keep an eye out for her. "Alright... only if you're sure."

Anna gave her a small smile and nodded, thanking her for her concern before turning to gaze out into the distance anew. However, the smile left her face almost as quickly as it had come when a faint, familiar voice reached her ears.

" _It is time to remind you of who you are_..."

Then suddenly, she found her sight fading of colors into a total blackness before it returned in brighter colors.

" _And of who we are together. For our love is a true love, an eternal love_..."

However, there was something she realized:

" _Our souls mated... together as one_..."

She was no longer in 1933.

" _Forever_..."

_Once more, Annabella found herself in Thebes. This time, however, she did not have the luck of appearing where she would be able to admire the once beautiful city. No, this time she was in a large room that appeared to be an Egyptian throne room. There she sat, on a golden throne of her own, beside a man whom reminded her of a picture she had once seen of her maternal grandfather from his years before he had become middle-aged._

_She blinked in surprise when she realized who it was. "Seti," she meant to say, but what came out of her mouth was, "Father" in the tenderest voice she had ever heard herself speak in._

_That was when she remembered she was not Annabella here._

_She was Nebetia, an Ancient Egyptian princess. Granddaughter of Pharaoh Khamudi, the last Hyksos ruler, and first daughter and successor of Menmaatre Seti the First, King of Egypt._

**_Ugh, I can't believe I still remember the description that mummified two-timing freak gave me ten years ago_ ** _, she thought as she mentally groaned._

_"Do not worry, my child. This will be over soon, and your fellow protector will be chosen."_

_She felt herself nod, her eyes briefly glancing at Seti's right, settling upon the High Priest she had come to hate._

_Imhotep._

_Her insides twisted with anger and hatred, though the look on her face contradicted her actual feelings as her lips curled up into a smile, returning the warm, loving smile he sent her way._

_Her attention was then brought back to the center of the room where two women stood facing each other, sais pointed at one another with golden masks covering their faces, hiding the women's identities from her. The only slightly familiar thing about both women was their skin color— one having olive skin, and the other ivory like herself._

_She stared with her brows furrowed in anticipation, then almost jumped in surprise when Seti clapped his hands together once, the sound resonating throughout the room. Her lips pursed as she watched the women turn their backs to each other; that must've been a signal. Seti then shouted his order to begin, and the women spun on their bare heels, beginning their sais battle._

_Annabella found herself really engrossed in the battle; she'd seen and been in battles, but never had she seen one with such graceful fighters. Anna continued to watch, her attention never wavering, though she began to internally battle with herself as she wondered which fighter she should vouch for. It was very difficult as both were very good, however her decision came rather quickly when she noticed the olive-skinned woman beginning to have the upper hand._

_It was a habit of hers— rooting for the losing team to give them hope. It was a habit she chose to never break as it had yet to deceive her._

_A gasp suddenly left her lips when the olive-skinned woman slammed her adversary into the marble floor. It seemed she was the only one who felt tense as the rest of the guests and even Nebetia's father gave the dark-skinned fighter a round of applause. The latter then straightened her posture when the woman on the ground lifted her mask, breathing hard. She then did the same, the mask lift revealing the sneer of a beautiful woman._

**_Huh_ ** _, Annabella found herself chuckling slightly. **No wonder I was rooting for her** , she thought as stared at the exact replica of her sister who was glaring up at the olive-skinned woman whom Anna did not fail to recognize as the ancestor of Meela, Anck-Su-Namun._

"Anna?"

Evelyn repeatedly called out to her sister, though the older woman showed no sign of having heard her. Frowning to herself, Evelyn turned and began to march over to her brother, brother-in-law, and friend. However, she found herself freezing as well. Then, like her sister, her sight faded of colors into a total blackness before it returned in brighter colors.

_She then blinked, surprised when she found herself glaring up at a familiar dark-skinned woman._

_"Put your mask on!" Anck-Su-Namun reprimanded, the sneer shifting into a smirk. "Let's not scar that pretty face."_

_Evelyn, or rather Nefertiri, growled, then jumped to her feet and, with admirable speed, twirled her sais in her hands before stepping back into a fighting stance, Anck-Su-Namun doing the same before their fight resumed, the battle between sais soon becoming one with an axe and a spear._

_In the end, Anck-Su-Namun won the battle, much to Anna's dismay. She still, however, found herself applauding along with the others._

_Her eyes then narrowed when she noticed Anck-Su-Namun press the end of her spear a little closer to Nefertiri's neck. Lips pursed, she craned her neck slightly to hear more clearly what she was clearly about to say._

_"You are learning quickly, Nefertiri," came the Pharaoh's mistress' voice ever so smoothly, a smirk curling its way onto her golden-colored lips. "I'll have to watch my back."_

_Evelyn's glare did not waver as she found herself growling back, "Yes... and I'll watch mine."_

_That made Anck-Su-Namun's smirk falter, though she had no time to reply as Seti stood and exclaimed himself in a prideful tone, "Bravo! Bravo!"_

_He walked down the steps of his golden throne, with his eldest daughter at his heels as he made his way smoothly across the marble floor to Nefertiri. "Who better to protect the bracelet of Anubis at my dear Nebetia's side," said Pharaoh Seti as he joined his youngest daughter's side and embraced her before pulling away, then wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Than my lovely second daughter, Nefertiri."_

_Then he looked up, his smile never wavering as he continued. "And who better to protect **me**  than my future wife, Anck-Su-Namun?" he finished, smiling brightly at his bride-to-be._

_Pharaoh Seti then pulled away, letting his eldest daughter take his place. Anna felt herself smile at him before she turned towards her sister and pulled into a warm embrace._

_Evelyn was surprised, for one as she had yet to see the face of the stranger embracing her, then for two as it was an action she had not been expecting._

_The stranger pulled away, revealing it to be Nebetia, the princess whom had reincarnated herself in her sister._

_"Well done, sister," said Nebetia, or rather Anna before embracing her anew._

_Evelyn smiled as she returned the embrace, though her smile instantly faltered when she noticed the looks exchanged between Anck-Su-Namun and Imhotep as he walked past the woman. That was when she finally understood what she and her siblings had tried to figure out while they were running for their lives ten years prior date from the resuscitated High Priest._

_The man that was to be married to the eldest princess of Thebes was going behind her back and having an affair with her closest friend, who also happened to be the king— her father's bride-to-be._

_Nebetia was not actually her sister, but it felt almost as though the man had been doing it to Anna. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that they shared the same face. Or perhaps Evelyn was just that compassionate. She couldn't even tell anymore, but what she **did**  know was that, while she was there, she was going to catch that man and make him suffer for what he did to Nebetia. For what he did to her and her family all those years ago. For what he was probably doing to her nephew at that exact moment._

_She was a long way from home now, but she felt she'd be damned if she didn't make worth of her time while they waited to catch up to Alex to rescue him._

*******************************************

Noticing how quiet his sisters were being, Jon stood and stepped forward toward them, catching Rick and Ardeth's attention.

"Evie?"

Anna was usually quiet, so he didn't call out to her, but Evelyn was the world's biggest chatterbox— she could not go one moment without a smartass comment, even if she'd never really intend to sound like a smart mouth.

He took another hesitant step forward toward his baby sister and called her name out again.

"Evie? Eves, come on, answer me. What's wrong?"

But he got no reply.

He glanced over at his married sister and called out her name, but it was just then that he noticed how still both of his sisters were. Like someone would be if they were being hypnotized, or even like a statue.

He was worrying now. What the hell was going on with them?

Rick frowned as he watched his wife and sister-in-law as well. He then shared a look with Ardeth before looking over at Jon and nodding at Evelyn, motioning him to approach her while he approached his unresponsive wife.

Sharing a nod, both men began approaching the women ever so slowly, like a hunter approaching the stag that he's hunting.

Whatever was going on with them, they had to be careful not to set them off as it could be dangerous for the trance-ensnared minds of these strong women.

*******************************************

_Later on, that day, after having locked away the bracelet of Anubis, Evelyn as Nefertiri spent the rest of the evening talking with Nebetia, whom she had yet to realize also had her sister gazing through her eyes just as she through Nefertiri's._

_When the sun began to set, Annabella announced, as Nebetia of course, that she was going to wander and bid her 'good nights' to the king, queen-to-be, and her priest and future husband._

_After embracing Nefertiri and wishing her a peaceful night, she wandered off down the enormously tall and long halls of the palace. Honestly, she had no idea where she was going, but she had to remind herself that, whether she liked it or not, she was not the one in control of her body. She was just there for the ride._

_Suddenly she stopped dead in her tracks when she heard Nefertiri shout from her balcony. Frowning to herself in confusion, wondering what could have gone wrong within merely three minutes, she spun on her sandaled heels and made her way back down the hall, heading towards where she remembered Nefertiri's room was. She called out the younger princess' name, brows furrowing and lips pursing when she got no reply._

_Mind set on absolutely finding out what was wrong, she pushed open the large door. "Nefertiri?" she called out once again._

_"MEDJAI!" she suddenly heard her shout. "MY FATHER NEEDS YOU!"_

_Her heart began racing as she rushed over to the doors that led into the balcony and cried out in fear when she saw Nefertiri tumble out of the balcony._

_She jumped forward in attempt to catch her, but she was too late._

*******************************************

Evelyn suddenly snapped and lurched forward with a pained scream, falling right into her brother's arms without realizing it.

At the same time, at the end of the balloon gondola, Anna subconsciously jumped forward as she had on Nefertiri's balcony in the palace of Thebes. The subconscious reaction caused her to tumble over the rail and out of the dirigible, her own scream snapping her out of the trance she'd been in.

Rick did not waste a second— the moment he saw her jump and the possibility of her falling over, he leaped toward her, jumping over the rail just in time to catch her by the leg.

He grumbled as he tried to pull them both back in.

"Next time we go on a vacation, I swear— I will tie you up if you even  _think_  of taking us to another thousand-year-old tomb," he grunted.

 


	8. A red blade soaked with envy...

Evelyn took the lead and explained everything that happened in the vision she and her sister shared, from her point of view.

"That doesn't explain why  _you_  jumped," Rick told his wife.

Anna sighed, exhaustion clouding her face as she ran a hand over it. "The moment Nefertiri saw her father being murdered by Imhotep and Anck-Su-Namun, Nebetia had just gotten to her room in time to hear her scream. Her death was an accident— granted it was caused by the resuscitated freaks."

"Still doesn't answer my question."

Anna rolled her eyes. "Nebetia jumped after her sister in hopes to catch her, but it was too late. Evie and I being the ones to relive that in the vision, we reacted like our past selves— I was just unfortunate to be the one to fall over a rail this time."

Rick frowned. "Anna, I know you and Evie haven't exactly been yourselves lately with all these dreams and visions—"

Evelyn shook her head. "You don't get it, do you? They weren't dreams or visions, Rick, they're memories from our previous lives. Honestly, we're not losing our minds, it makes perfect sense now."

"And that's the reason we found the bracelet?" Rick asked, eyeing his sister-in-law dubiously.

Evelyn smiled proudly and nodded. "Exactly, Annie and I were its protectors."

"Now do you believe, my friend?" said Ardeth with a small smile. "Clearly, you were destined to protect these women."

Annabella sighed, grumbling under her breath, "I am getting real tired of this destiny crap and its stupid curses."

Rick glanced down at her with understanding eyes before looking back at the Medjai. "Right. So let me get this straight. My sister-in-law is a reincarnated princess, my wife is a reincarnated queen and I'm a warrior for God?"

"When you say it like that, you make our whole existence sound completely stupid," Anna muttered.

"What am I, then? The reincarnation of a trader?" Jonathan grumbled, seemingly disappointed.

Evelyn chuckled. "Actually, you, my dear brother, just so happen to be the reincarnation of Ramses the Second, eldest child of Seti the First."

Jonathan looked at his sister in disbelief. "Wha— and no one thought to tell me?!"

Ignoring Jonathan's comments, Ardeth nodded at Evelyn's response to her brother and Rick's deduction. "And your son is the way to Ahm Shere. Four points of the base of the pyramid, and he the top. This was all preordained thousands of years ago."

Evelyn was ridiculously adorable for a woman her age, and that almost had the Medjai blushing when she looked at him with big eyes full of childish excitement.

"And how does the story end?" she asked.

Ardeth gave her a soft smile, a twinge of sadness etched upon it. "Ah, only the journey is written, not the destination."

Rick looked at him for a moment, his tongue running over his teeth before muttered, "Convenient."

"How do you explain the mark on your arm then?"

Rick shrugged. "Coincidence?"

Ardeth chuckled. "My friend, there is a fine line between coincidence and fate."

*******************************************

The O'Connells, the Carnahans, Ardeth Bay and Izzy soon found themselves lucky when they discovered a clue in their next destination. Alex was nowhere to be found, but they discovered that the bracelet of Anubis was giving him visions— directions to Ahm Shere that his captors followed; from that spot on, they found, at each location, clues that Alex had left for his parents, who followed in Izzy's dirigible.

What nobody knew, other than the resurrected mummy himself and his lover, was that while he had used the Book of the Dead, which had resulted in Anna almost falling to her death after having shared a vision of her past life with her sister, Meela had also been entranced into the vision as well, killing herself as her past self had done. Incidentally, Imhotep used Meela's body to store the soul of Anck-Su-Namun, thus bringing her back to life.

As time quickly flew by, both parties grew closer to their final destination, the little boy leading them all to it. There was a moment, however, when Imhotep and his followers had reached the Blue Nile; things got worse for Alex. It was still unbeknownst to him whether his family were getting closer to reaching him, but he did not lose hope.

Neither did his parents. The couple and their companions were right on Imhotep's trail, Izzy leading the dirigible through hidden passages as so to not get caught by their enemy.

"That s the Blue Nile down there, must be out of Egypt by now," Rick pointed out, glancing down at the flowing water yards beneath them.

"In ancient times, all this belonged to the Upper Kingdom," said Evelyn, unable to stop herself from marveling over such historical facts while having it all right in front of her.

"The Oasis must be around here somewhere," Anna bid, glancing around nervously.

Rick walked over to his wife and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Anna, we'll find him. He's a smart kid, he'll leave us a sign."

True to his father's word, Alex continued to build little makeshift models of his next destination. However, when it was time to build his last one, the boy was discovered by none other than Lock-Nah, immediately bringing his plans to a halt.

The man's anger was nothing like thus of his boss.

Where Lock-Nah's anger was almost comical to watch, had Alex's life not been on the line, Imhotep was deadly silent, his blue eyes being the projectors of his emotions. And from one single glance, Alex could tell the immortal was pissed.

Imhotep looked into the boy's hazel, green-speckled eyes and felt more anger churn within him as he thought of whom the boy had inherited those eyes from.

Lock-Nah only scowled, silently sulking from his spot; he couldn't seem to understand why the immortal man was so protective over the boy, especially now that they were nearing the end of their journey. It couldn't possibly be because of the boy's mother as he knew Imhotep was in love with Anck-Su-Namun. Well... he was, right?

Throwing a glance behind his shoulder, a nasty smirk grew upon the face of the resuscitated man as an idea formed in his head. Looking back down at the boy, he spoke to him in a taunting manner, not caring at all to switch into the boy's mother-tongue as he knew full well he would be understood either way.

" _I hope your father enjoyed his journey._ "

Then, turning his back to the disheveled boy, Imhotep raised his arms and, suddenly, following his movement, the water from the Nile began to rise. It rose up and kept going up until it almost rivaled the height of Great Wall of China.

Alex was fully aware of the man's feelings for his mother, yet that didn't stop him from panicking; this man was—to put it as his mother would— a previously mummified, two-timing freak who was blinded by anger and power to the point where he seemingly didn't care at all who he hurt along his way to his triumph. And, clearly, Imhotep was not using his brain correctly, for he wouldn't be attempting to kill his family for the umpteenth time, his mother included despite the supposed love this man felt for her.

Alex watched from where he sat crumpled on the ground, horror-struck at the sight before him. There, up in the sky, in quite a distance, he could faintly see the old dirigible heading their way. If he looked a little closer, he could see his father standing by the nose of the ship, but before he could even possibly think of looking closer, he watched wide-eyed as his captor threw his arms forward, prompting the wall of water to shoot in his aimed direction, toward the silent flying ship.

Meanwhile, on the dirigible, Anna stood beside her husband, a seemingly permanent frown on her face. There was feeling in the pit of her stomach that had her on her toes. No, it was not the barely fetus in her womb, but rather that gut feeling one usually got just before something bad happened. Trying to think up a way to get rid of that unsettling feeling, Anna turned to look at her husband and called out to him. He, in turn, frowned when she began to speak with much hesitance, which was unlike herself.

He began to make his way over to her, looking down at her with worry-filled eyes. "What's wrong, Anna?"

"Rick... I... well, erm... okay, I know I probably should've told you this the moment I found out, but I'm pre—"

Annabella cut herself in the next second when she noticed a shockingly immense amount of water— a tidal wave, perhaps even a deemable tsunami— was heading their way, and she knew if Izzy didn't turn the stupid ship around, they would all surely succumb to death within the next few minutes.

"Izzy!" Anna cried out.

Having caught sight of the rushing threat, Izzy had already begun obliging to her unspoken order. "I'm already on it, Lass!"

Seeing what his wife and friend were referring to, Rick shouted. "Well, step on it!"

"What do you think I'm doing?!"

"Izzy!" Rick said warningly.

"Shut up, Rick!" everyone shouted, surprisingly, in unison.

Ardeth quickly sent Horus off, right before they all found themselves watching in horror as Imhotep's face formed upon the wall of water.

"Shoot it!" Izzy cried.

"If it were that easy, we wouldn't be in this situation!" Jonathan cried out.

"That won't help!" Rick agreed. "Turn!"

Izzy turned the balloon right, between two small mountains. The wall of water couldn't turn, and so they were finally safe.

After the water went past them, Jonathan said, "People! Look around you!"

They were in a wonderful place with green trees and blue waters. There were fruit trees and flowers everywhere; it was an Egyptian paradise.

"Ahm Shere," said Ardeth very quietly.

"It is!" said Rick. "I can see the top of the gold pyramid behind those trees."

But suddenly, they heard the sound of the wall of water again. Before they could move, the water rushed toward the balloon, ready to throw it a mountain. However, before it could touch it, an invisible force formed around the dirigible, shielding it from the threat. The sudden appearance caused the ship to rocket a bit and its passengers to stumble. Anna, however, was the only who seemed to have no difficulty in staying put on her two feet.

Almost tripping over his own feet, Rick rushed over to his wife to see if she had been hurt. He found himself slightly able to ignore the giant water head trying to kill them when he noticed his wife was completely immobile, her hazel eyes having darkened almost to the point where they were _glowing_ black.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her slightly. "Anna. C'mon, honey, look at me."

A pained look suddenly crossed her face. Not seeming to hear her husband calling out to her, she mindlessly shoved past him, to the end of the balloon gondola. Noticing the commotion at the front of the ship, Anna's siblings glanced up, worry and fright flashing across their faces, while Ardeth clung to anything he could as he tried to not give in to the nausea he felt and throw up.

Annabella gracefully walked ahead, eyes void of anything that could prove she was master of her own actions. The pained look on her face morphed into one of fury as she reached the peak of the gondola.

" _I will not let you take this from me too!_ " she roared, unknowingly speaking in Ancient Egyptian.

Her arms thrust forward, and an incredibly large gust of wind surged forward, clashing against the wall of water. The world around them seemed to shake as both forces collided and seemingly fought until both finally gave away, the water turning into an uncontrollable wave, crashing all around and onto the dirigible. At that moment, Anna's mind finally came to as she lost her balance and fell into her husband's awaiting arms, who, in turn, collapsed as well from the violent rocketing of the ship.

*******************************************

Imhotep, although puzzled by the force that had seemingly countered his attack, turned in the now empty river, a satisfied smirk adorning his face. There was a stir of emotions within him he could not comprehend when he caught sight of the look of the boy's face.

Alex, who was now standing, almost tripping over his own feet, looked on where the balloon had been hit and crashed in the distance, a look of horror and fright when he thought of how plausible is was that his parents were the ones to have been in the dirigible; otherwise, Imhotep wouldn't have bothered to make such a big attack on the ship.

"Mum? Dad?"

Tears building in his eyes as anger began to fill him as he glanced around at his company; judging by the smug looks on everyone's faces he could only assume his parents were gone. The tears were quick to fall from Alex's eyes at the mere thought of never seeing his parents, his Uncle Jon or his Aunt Evie again.

Shrugging the unknown emotions stirring within him, Imhotep let the tip of his victory bring his feeling of satisfaction a little more fort as he walked out of the empty river and past the boy, ruffling his hair along the way, merely laughing when the boy cringed and weakly shoved his hand away.

*******************************************

Meanwhile, the six wet people on the ground were tired, but they weren't dead. The rescue party began to remove their bags and very much needed belongings from the ruined ship while Izzy desperately attempted to put out of the bit of flames still burning his ship.

"We're gonna get my son and we're gonna want to get out of here fast," said Rick. "So make this thing work, Izzy."

The little dark-skinned man let out a humorless snort. "No, this thing is filled with gas, not hot air." He glared at the married man. "Gas to get this thing off the ground— where am I going to get gas from?! Maybe I could use hot air," he continued in a rather sarcastic tone. "But you know how many cubic metres I'd need, it's too big."

Rick walked forward and placed a trusting hand on his shoulder. "Well if anyone can fill this thing up with hot air, it's you."

Izzy sighed, slightly defeated. "But Rick ..."

"No 'buts.' This balloon has to fly again!"

"Let's go!" shouted Ardeth.

After snatching back his golden stick without anyone noticing, Jonathan, along with his sisters, Rick and Ardeth began to make their way through the abnormally tropical Egyptian land.

"So Rick, what's the plan?" Jonathan asked.

"We should find some higher ground," Anna called out to them all as she led the group.

Rick frowned at the slightly bitter edge in Anna's tone; they were getting closer to their son, she should be happy not bitter— she was usually (surprisingly) the most positive and optimistic out of both of them. Of course, he was only thinking so as he had no idea that his wife was planning on telling him she was pregnant again.

Suddenly, before any one of them could voice a thought, the sound of a gunshot resonated throughout the jungle, halting the group in their step. The sound was followed, not even a second later, by a loud squawking sound.

Recognizing the sound, Ardeth quickly turned on his step and ran a few away from the group. "Horus!"

There was no response following his desperate cry, and the atmosphere visibly saddened and became even more bitter.

"I must go," the Medjai said suddenly as he started in the opposite direction.

"Wait!" Rick called out, hurrying after him.

"I must let the commanders know where we are," Ardeth continued.

"You can't go!" both Rick and Evelyn stated as they both rushed to stand in front of the man to keep him from going any further.

"If the Army of Anubis arises..."

"Ardeth." All heads turned to look at the fierce woman who usually held herself together rather astonishingly. They watched quietly as she wordlessly made her way over and pushed her way past her husband and sister to stand right before him, her darkened hazel eyes staring straight into his.

"I have never asked you, or anyone for that matter, for anything. I've never asked for help, and I sure as hell wasn't about to start ten years ago." She fought back a grimace as she thought back to the horrible events having passed all those years ago. "... granted, what happened then was actually our fault, so we really had no right to—"

"Anna, you're drifting," Evelyn mumbled, gently touching her sister's shoulder.

Hearing this, Anna cleared her throat upon realizing her sister was right. "Right. My point is..." She took a deep, trembling breath before looking back into the Medjai's eyes. "Time has changed, and right now I am desperate, Ardeth. I understand you still wish to help us by leading the others here, but I am _begging_ you to stay; we need— _I_ need to find my son before we can go about killing this... this stupid, horrible, fully regenerated, previously mummified, two-timing freak."

The others became slightly amused at her choice of words, in spite of themselves.

"Please. I know what we're about to go up against is dangerous; I don't need reminding of that— I've faced things almost as bad, if not, worse since I've become an explorer. But... please, Ardeth..."

This was the first time any of them saw past Annabella Carnahan, the fearless explorer. She wasn't Annabella Carnahan, as she was often addressed despite being married. She wasn't the adventurous, ruthless explorer who sought thrill and adventure above all in her excursions— this was Annabella _O'Connell_ , a woman who simply worried for her child's life and was simply desperate to find him and pull him from harms way.

Finding the same desperation in the eyes of the woman's husband, the Medjai relented, abandoning his previously impulsive pursuit.

"Then first," said Ardeth, ever so softly, as though afraid that speaking any louder would physically break either of them like a piece of glass. "I shall help you."

The Carnahan and O'Connell clan sighed in relief.

"Thank you," Rick gratified as he patted the man gratefully on the shoulder before wrapping an arm around his Anna's waist, who echoed his gratifying words to the Egyptian man, giving him a small smile as well.

Then, they were all on their way once more. It took a while before they small group finally reached a higher ground level, using the darkness of the night to their advantage, keeping to the shadows, while still keeping an eye out for Alex.

Despite the faint relief of knowing they were closer to the young boy now, everyone remained tense and on high alert, Anna above them all.

"You hear that?" she had said at one moment, when she had stopped in the middle of her riffle-cleaning routine.

"Hear what?" Jonathan wondered as all looked at her, except for her husband who kept shifting his gaze around the jungle, as equally alert, knowing exactly what she meant when she spoke all of a sudden.

"Nothing," Rick answered their question for her. "Absolutely nothing."

She nodded his way in agreement when the others looked back at her. "Exactly."

The others stopped and listened; the O'Connells were right— other than the noise emitted from the group that had kidnapped their son, which was levels and yards away from them, the dark, humid jungle was disturbingly silent. No apes were heard, no lion growled, grumbled or purred, no crickets or birds chirped— it was strangely silent.

" _'Nobody comes to Ahm Shere and then goes home again, for it is a place for the dead,'_ " Anna recited softly before looking at each of her companions. "This jungle is cursed in some way. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a whole legend behind it, and Imhotep wouldn't have come here with a game plan. We must stay alert and cautious."

Ardeth and Rick nodded in agreement.

"She's right," said Rick, before adding in a slightly sarcastic tone. "There could be tiny, little mummies at any corner, so we gotta keep our eyes out there... like that Greek god with many eyes."

"You mean Argus Panoptes?" Evelyn questioned, scrunching her nose in slight disgust as she remembered many drawn portrayals of said god.

Rick rolled his eyes, slightly irritated. "Evie, I don't really care about his name, I was just trying to make a point."

"Guys, focus," Annabella hissed at them.

Her eyes never left her son, whom she saw sitting in a corner, a few feet away from Imhotep's group. Her heart clenched tightly in her chest at the sight of his disheveled appearance and the sad look on his face; he was a usually a very jolly boy, always laughing and smiling, and simply looking to have a good time— like his father.

The O'Connells, Evelyn and Jonathan followed the Medjai to a place above the gold pyramid. They watched and waited for Alex. Imhotep, Lock-Nah, and Anck-Su-Namun found Ahm Shere that night. The bracelet on Alex's arm showed them and their soldiers the way. Further through the jungle, they saw dead soldiers from earlier times. The sight made Anna's jaw clench as she fought the urge to go on a rampage then and there and get her son back.

"My word," said Jonathan, eyes widening in wonder. "I say, chaps, look at this." The group turned to see what the Englishman was going on about. A shrunken head, rotten and disgusting, he turned in his hand, chuckling in amusement. "The heads, I'd love to know how they did that."

"You really wouldn't," was Annabella's instantaneous reply.

Noticing the grave and stern look on his sister's face, Jonathan merely shrugged back, completely shameless at his admission. "Just curious."

"Well, you shouldn't be. You know the saying: curiosity killed the cat," Anna retorted.

The man grinned at his sister. "Yes, that's true. But what is it you say again? Ah, yes! The cat had nine lives."

Evelyn snorted humorlessly. "You've wasted all nine of them ages ago, Jon."

"And yet I'm still standing."

The sisters rolled their eyes before each focusing on their own firearm, readying themselves for the undoubtedly upcoming battle. Quietly, Ardeth approached the mumbling man as he, too, readied his riffle.

"Any good with that?"

Jonathan looked up and his face morphed into one of self-pride. "Three times Fox and Hounds champion, I'll have you know." Then, eyeing the sword clinging at his companion's belt, he retorted, "You any good with that?"

Ardeth let out a barely audible snort as his glanced down at the hilt of his preferred weapon. "We'll know soon enough," he said. Then, within barely a second, in Ardeth pulled at the sword and twirled it in one swift move before pressing it against Jonathan's throat with a smug look on his face.

"The only way to kill an Anubis warrior is by taking off his head."

"I'll remember that."

A few strides away, the O'Connells stood side by side, cleaning their own weapons in silence. Both held themselves tensely, their bodies rigid as they worried of the battled they knew awaited them the moment they'd get to rescuing their son.

After another moment's pause, Rick finally looked over at his wife and broke the silence as he began to give her tips in how to use the new riffle she'd acquired, even though he had no doubt she already knew how; it was simply a nervous habit of his, to go on explaining to anyone how to use weapons whenever his nerves couldn't settle.

"Keep it tight to your shoulder," Rick spoke in a stiff tone, giving her a little demonstration with his own firearm. "And lead the target and squeeze the trigger don't, don't pull it."

Anna nodded, placing a hand on his chest. "I know," she said softly. "I won't miss."

He looked her in the eyes, placing his hand over hers on his chest, gently squeezing her fingers as he murmured, "I know."

Rick then leant forward, grasped her face in one hand and kissed her deeply, to which she responded instantly, kissing back as loving and passionately as he was her, before he abruptly pulled away and walked off with Ardeth, whom found himself merely sparing a longing glance towards the youngest Carnahan.

While the three siblings positioned themselves in their hideout, Rick and Ardeth began to travel through the jungle, stealthily making their way toward their enemy group that now on the move once more, cutting their way through tropical leaves and trees as they continued their path to their final destination.

When the golden pyramid finally came into view, Alex's eyes widened with nervousness as he realized that Imhotep and his group would no longer need him and would soon dispose of him.

"... shit, I'm in trouble now."

Upon seeing their destination practically glowing underneath the moonlight, Lock-Nah grinned deviously and asked Imhotep if he could kill the boy now. The Curator translated his request to the immortalized man, whom merely glanced behind with a hard look on his face upon hearing what was asked.

" _Have I not repeated countless of times that the boy was_ **_not_** _to be harmed in any way?_ " the ancient High Priest growled in his native tongue. " _The child leads to the pyramid, but the bracelet is what shall unlock_ **_my_** _army._ "

The Curator's eyes widened upon hearing this, as well as Alex, whom stared up at the previously mummified man in confusion.

" _The bracelet is what unlocks your army?_ " the Curator asked, surprised by this outcome he had not known.

" _Do not pluck a single hair off that boy's head_ ," was Imhotep's last reply before he continued leading the group forward.

Since Alex was yet to be fluent in the ancient Egyptian language, he only understood but bits of what the previously mummified man had said. And those bits weren't enough for him to understand that Imhotep wasn't actually giving the order to have him killed. Thinking otherwise, the young boy began to walk quietly away, for he had a clear idea of what Lock-Nah was thinking of doing to him.

"The bracelet is the key— retrieve it," said the Curator. The words were simple, no threatening edge to it, but both, Alex and Lock-Nah took it another way.

Upon hearing this, Alex hurried to get away. Noticing the boy was aiming to leave, Lock-Nah quickly set out to follow him, had his plans for the boy and began to follow him. Then he heard a strange sound in the trees and stopped.

"What is that?" one of the Priest's followers wondered aloud as they all slowed in their pace.

"Is it the dead? Are they singing?" another wondered.

A panicked look on her face, Anck-Su-Namun looked up to her lover. " _What is it?_ " she asked him.

" _Something is coming_ ," he replied simply.

"Fan out. Eyes open, guns out," Lock-Nah ordered the soldiers.

Up in their hideout, Annabella readied herself, kneeling down on one knee as she aimed her sniper down at the group that held her son captive. On either side of her were her brother and sister, whom also readied themselves for the battle they knew would begin soon.

Anna, whom had been very silent since the moment her husband had left with their friend, suddenly spoke up. "Jon? Evie?"

The eldest and youngest Carnahan said nothing as they looked at her.

"That is my husband," she continued quietly, her tone firm yet breathy with so much emotion she more than often tried to hide. "And my son down there." Looking away from her aimed targets, she shifted her eyes between her siblings. "Make me proud."

Her siblings nodded. "Today's that day, Anna," Jonathan muttered, as Evelyn reassured her sister how she wouldn't fail her.

Suddenly, a man cried, "Help me!"

Nobody could see him the man who cried wolf, but everyone reacted instantly and began run when, one by one, the soldiers were being pulled beneath the waist length grass, under the ground by a seemingly invisible force. Suddenly, a lot of very short mummies then came out of the ground. They fought with the soldiers in red hats, some of them being taken down before the little mummies could reach them by the Carnahan siblings, shooting down at them with them snipers and shotguns.

All the while, some others of the little mummies put their focus on another task altogether, trying to get the Book of the Dead from Anck-Su-Namun, but she and Imhotep ran through the trees.

These little mummies were a problem, but Lock-Nah forgot about them. All he wanted was to kill Alex.

"There you are." He smiled deviously upon finally reaching the boy, looking straight into the child's eyes as he spoke fiercely, gradually lifting his sword, "The time has come my little one."

Before he could strike, however, Rick jumped forward with a loud battle cry and swung his son over his shoulder before running off as Ardeth engaged into a fight with Lock-Nah, so the latter man would not go after Alex and Rick.

"What the hell are those?! Did you know they'd visit?! Rick did mention little mummies...!" Jonathan rambled on panickingly, shooting at any mummy trying to jump onto their friend and devour him, before shooting at Lock-Nah, freeing Ardeth from the intense battle he'd been caught in.

"I do believe he was being sarcastic when he mentioned those," Evelyn replied, bemused, as she and Anna shot at anything that chased after Rick, who was really pushing himself to get himself and his son out of there safely.

After making sure nothing else was following her husband, Anna stood and spoke commandingly as she recharged her rifle, "Let's go; if we go down that hill, in the least steep path, we should be able to catch up to them in five minutes."

Sure enough, within the next five minutes or so, the three siblings managed to catch up to Rick and Alex, all of them running rather wildly, shooting about as so to not get eating by the little savage mummies.

"Alex!"

"Mom!"

Anna and Alex looked at each other, smiling genuinely since the whole shit had begun, as the family finally came to a stop, the woman all but yanking her son from her husband's arms and embracing him fiercely, the boy hugging her just as tightly as he wrapped his arms around her neck and buried his face under her chin.

"Hey, nice shooting, Tex," Rick complemented breathlessly.

"What— what were those creepy little pigmies?!" Jonathan cried out.

"Just the local natives," Rick waved him off, doubling over as he rested his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath from all the running.

"Are you sure?" Jonathan demanded, eyeing his brother-in-law dubiously.

"I'm sure, it's nothing."

Suddenly, Alex pulled away from his mother's embrace with a frightening urgency.

"What's wrong, Alex?" his mother asked me.

The boy grabbed her hand and pulled at it urgently. "Come on, Mum, come on, Dad, we have to get to the pyramid, we have to get the bracelet off now."

"Leave it on, Alex, looks good on you" Jonathan tiredly waved him off.

"No, you guys! You don't understand. He told me the bracelet will kill me if I don't get inside the pyramid before the sun today!" the boy panicked.

"Oh, my God," Evelyn gasped.

Eyes wide, Anna pushed herself onto her feet and urged everyone forward in the direction of the pyramid. "Time to go!" Just then, as if to put an emphasis in her urgency, the ground began to tremble under the thundering pressure of the army of little mummies running their way.

"Time to go!" Rick repeated urgently, latching onto his son's hand and pulling him into a run.

"I thought you said it was nothing!" Jonathan cried out.

The six people ran through the trees, running as fast at they could to get to the pyramid, all while trying to escape the wrath of the little mummies, which were swinging in the trees, vine from vine.

"Where the hell is Jonathan?" Evelyn suddenly growled under her breath when she noticed her brother was no longer with them.

Throughout the chaos of being chased by little crazed mummies, Jonathan had, unfortunately, run off down another path and gotten lost, trying to run away from his own group of little brain-eating creatures. At some point, he had crashed into one of Imhotep's soldiers, though he had not made much of it as he continued running for his life, the soldier running beside him, trying to get away from the little mummies as well.

At one point, both men ran into a burial sight where stones were buried into the ground as though positioned for a ritual. In a corner, by a dying willow tree were many tiny skulls, piled up one over the other, forming a pyramid of its own. The ground they'd stepped foot on looked an awful lot like a graveyard.

"Look!" Jonathan cried out as he jumped to a stop, the soldier right at his heels. "It's the burial ground, we're safe. See those sacred stones, they'll never cross them."

"Are you sure?" the man asked him.

"Yes of course I'm sure!"

Suddenly one of the little mummies leaped toward Jonathan, making him scream and instantly duck out of the way. The mummy landed on the soldier, driving its spear into his chest. The creature then looked at Jonathan and he screamed in complete terror. Surprisingly, the little mummy screamed back at him before taking off fearfully up a vine and into the trees.

Jonathan then looked at the stabbed man and said, "Sorry! My mistake!" before taking off again. He then finally caught up with the others running across a log over a cliff. "Wait!" he cried out. "Wait for me!"

"Hurry up, Jonathan!" Evelyn called out to him.

"Wait for me!" said man repeated breathlessly as he crossed the log to their side. "What's that for?" he then asked when he noticed his brother-in-law lightly up a dynamite.

"Just a little something in case of an emergency."

Rick then threw the explosive to the creatures who began to fight over the sparkling stick until it exploded and sent them all plummeting off the cliff.

"Rick" Anna suddenly called out at him urgently. "There's light behind those mountains. The sun is coming up. We've got to get him to the pyramid."

Without another word, Rick took Alex's hand and ran as quickly as possible. Their battle was now with the sun. For a moment, their pace remained quick and steady, though after a while, Alex tumbled to the ground, unable to bare the pain he was suddenly feeling in his arm, the harm emitting from the bracelet.

"Dad, the bracelet..."

Seeing the sunrise behind them, Rick picked his son up in one swift move then sprinted his way forth, practically racing against the fiery planet lifting its way toward the sky. They were only a few yards away from the entrance of the monument, but the sun was only a few feet behind them, quickly catching up to them. The light nearly touching the back of his neck, Rick leaped the few remaining feet and made it into the temple.

Sun and father collapsed onto the sandy ground, huffing and gasping for air, lazily glancing behind them at the sun that couldn't reach them from above the shade that covered them in the pyramid.

"You know something?" Rick suddenly said, "It ain't easy being a dad."

"Yeah, but you do it really well!" said the boy.

Rick let out a breathless laugh, tousling his son's hair. "Thanks, son," he replied. "Life with you isn't always easy."

"Yeah, but you like it!" Alex replied cheekily.

In that same minute, the Bracelet of Anubis fell off Alex's arm. The boy grabbed it and threw it away; he never wanted to see that thing again.

The Carnahan siblings then finally arrived at the pyramid. Anna walked further ahead and looked around for her son and husband; Evelyn stayed a bit back and looked at the aging ruins surrounding the pyramid; Jonathan by the trees and looked up at the gold. But before they could go further ahead and join Rick and Alex, the previously mummified Imhotep suddenly arrived at the pyramid, his lover right at his heels.

For a moment, he came to a stop right where he stood, a few yards away from the siblings. His eyes locked with those hazel eyes speckled about with tints of green, his own holding so many emotions one could not comprehend from the usually emotionless man.

Evelyn and Jonathan felt nervous upon witnessing this unmoving encounter. Every decision, every move— every _plan_ counted for something when facing this undead man; they had learned that the hard way ten years ago, when he was first brought back to life. What they still couldn't seem to understand now, as they all stood there, facing both undead traitors, was why exactly Imhotep had brought back Anck-Su-Namun, when they had come the rather accurate deduction that he wanted to kill her for manipulating into hurting and betraying the one he truly loved— Nebetia.

The two siblings shifted their gaze from their enemies and glanced over at their sister with worry as she stood frozen, hand fidgeting at her side, itching to reach her handgun, which was stuffed in the back pocket of her trousers.

For the first time in a long while, in that particular moment, Anna felt fear for her own life as her eyes remained locked with those of the love of her previous life.

Was he never going to give up? She knew the answer to that already, but she couldn't help but naively hope he would. From the look on his face, she knew that he was aware that she would not give up either.

Her son might've been safe now, but that changed nothing in regards of her internal battle against the problems ensued from her previous life. It didn't matter what named she was given, nor what century she was reborn in. It did not matter whether he was resurrected as himself— the previously mummified High Priest, or a doppelganger, just like she herself was— she was never going to give in to this criminal— this traitor.

After all, despite being an O'Connell through marriage, she was still Annabella Carnahan. She never lost against her enemies, and _Hell_ itself be damned if she let the spirit of Nebetia, which she knew still resided within her, lose to this... this horribly gorgeous, fully regenerated, previously mummified, two-timing freak.

The dark eyes of Anck-Su-Namun shifted angrily between Anna and Imhotep. She felt anger and envy as she easily decrypted the emotions behind her lover's eyes as they stared at the doppelganger of her once best friend— _love_. Even after all these centuries spent dormant, after all these years since their last encounter with the doppelganger... after having been confirmed that, although the former great Queen of Thebes lived within her, she was _not_ her— he still loved her far more than he ever did Anck-Su-Namun. Hell, he probably hated the latter... at least that would explain the looks of dismay he'd sent her way recently throughout their journey to Ahm Shere.

She had to do something— she was going to do something; she just simply couldn't let this feeling going through her lover for her former best friend to keep on going. Nebetia was dead, after all. This woman was but a poor, duller copy of the dead royal.

Her dark eyes remained solely on the woman standing but a few feet away as she followed Imhotep, whom gracefully slid forward, toward the entrance that led inside the pyramid. She came near Anna, and locked eyes with her.

She knew this was not Nebetia, but that was all she saw as she almost just slid past her without doing anything.

Stopping for one moment, before any of the Carnahan siblings could react, Anck-Su-Namun acted on her anger and envy that never died in her millenniums spent dead, and, in one swift move, she sliced the dagger she held deep across the woman's abdomen before driving it through Annabella's heart. She sneered victoriously as the English woman crumbled onto her knees, a loud gasp leaving her lips as the life left her so quickly that her face could not even twist in pain anymore.

That loud gasp followed by the pained cry of the woman's younger sister caught the attention of both Rick _and_ Imhotep.

Imhotep spun around and, when he caught sight of what was happening, his eyes widened in horror, then narrowing in anger. He should've killed her. He should've done it when it had become rather obvious how that the resurrection spell he had casted not so long ago had not worked on Anna, but only on Meela. He looked at Anck-Su-Namun with an anger impossible to rival as she smirked widely while removing the dagger from Annabella's chest. If possible, the High Priest became more furious upon seeing the red coated blade.

_A red blade soaked with envy_ , more like it.


	9. The Resurrected Queen and The Previously Mummified Traitorous Freak

Rick shot up from where he laid on the ground at the entrance of pyramid, looked around frantically, instantly jumping onto his feet upon seeing his wife crumbling to the ground behind the resurrected bitch who was holding a dagger covered in blood.

"NO!" the man shouted before running off in their direction.

Stalking back toward the siblings, going through a mild panic attack, Imhotep roughly took hold of Anck-Su-Namun's arm and dragged her toward the pyramid. She tried to calm him down, protesting against his grip, crying out about how he was hurting her, but she quickly shut herself up when he spun on his heels and all but growled at her.

" _Quiet!_ " he roared. " _You've done enough._ "

He then spun back around and continued his way toward the pyramid, leaving her completely forgotten behind him. For a moment, he took another glance behind him, feeling anger _and_ envy sparking within him again as he watched the face of his wife look painfully and yet lovingly at the man who was now her husband.

 _I am not a Theban princess or what not!_ she said ten years ago. Perhaps she was not, but, although different in many ways, life made her the same as she used to be. A fighter, a warrior— a protector. Whether she liked it or not, she and Nebetia were one in the same. She had just yet to see it.

Imhotep growled angrily under his breath, a glare narrowing his eyes once more when he saw Anck-Su-Namun wave tauntingly at the boy they'd held captive as said child faltered for a moment before running after his father toward his mother. Furiously, he roughly took a hold of her arm once more before hauling her along, shoving her into the pyramid upon reaching its door, both disappearing inside the dark interior.

 _Envy_ , Anna thought bitterly as black spots began to fill her sight. _It's always that. It takes away what you had once wanted, then when it can't keep a tight grip on it, it decides that the only way is to rip things apart._

She was vaguely aware of someone cradling her in their arms as her eyes fluttered. She wanted to sleep, but she knew if she did, she wouldn't wake up. And if she didn't wake up, that would mean she was dead, and if she died, the baby growing inside her would die too.

 _She's probably already dead from all we've been through since that bastard was resurrected_ , her thoughts went on, her dying not dimming the bitterness and anger she felt. She couldn't die— this baby had to live. _She_ had to live. But she was, oh, so tired...

"Anna? Anna!"

She knew that voice belonged to her husband— the love of her life, but at that moment he sounded like an angel to her ears. An angel that was crying.

Her brows furrowed slightly; angels are beings of peace and joy, they shouldn't cry.

"She's going to be alright, isn't she, Dad?" Alex asked, his eyes welling up with non-shedding tears in his confusion, having never seen anyone in such a situation— having never been in a similar situation, himself.

"Anne," Evelyn whispered, her doe eyes watering too as she fell to her knees beside her sister.

"Annie... oh— God...."

Jonathan was having a hard time breathing as well as he slowly neared them. He failed— his parents had asked him to protect his sisters before they had gone off on their journey that brought them their eventual death. This was _nowhere_ near protecting them. He truly failed this time, and as many times as he knew his younger sister had managed to fight off death, he knew there was no fighting it this time.

"She'll be fine, she'll be fine," Rick said unconvincingly, his voice thick with emotion. Noticing his brother-in-law approaching them, he weakly pushed his son toward him. "Just take him, take him..."

He looked back down at his wife and searched for her wound, his insides filling with defeat and despair upon finding the long, deep cut across her stomach and the hole in her chest.

"Oh, my God..." he chocked out. "Y-you're gonna make it, you'll be fine."

At that moment, Anna's eyes fluttered open, a small and very innocent smile curling onto her lips. "You have pretty eyes," she whispered almost childishly. "They're so... bright... and blue... like the sky... you were my angel, you know?"

"Anna?" he murmured.

She only smiled. She didn't want to die, but it wasn't something she could fight. Not anymore. And although she wished to stay alive in hopes that her second child would survive, there was no escaping death... well, not unless you wished to become an undead _freak_ like a certain someone; that was something she would never want to be.

"You... you saved me..." she said softly. Her eyes looked past him to her siblings and her son. "You all did."

Her eyes fluttered again, and Rick panicked. "You're real strong, Anna— you're gonna make it... you're gonna make it... you're fine..." But even he could not convince himself, for he knew otherwise. "Oh, God— what do I do? What do I do, Anna?"

Taking a shaky breath, the brunette whispered, "T... take care... of... Alex..."

"No, Anna... no..." Rick choked back sobs as he traced her delicate face with his gentle fingers.

Eyes fluttering, Anna spoke one last time. "... love... you…" Her voice was barely audible, though as her eyes slowly closed, the answer as to why being simply clear.

"Annie?"

Evelyn squeaked, her hand flying to her mouth as she began to cry. Behind them, Jonathan shed his own tears as he held his nephew in his arms, embracing him as tightly as the boy did him, clinging to the older man as he cried for his mother's death.

Rick shook his head, sobbing as he begged his wife not to leave him. "No— comeback... comeback..."

But there was no coming back— Annabella O'Connell was dead.

**********************************************************

Imhotep and Anck-Su-Namun made their way into the chamber situated at the center of the pyramid. There, they saw a large golden square on the floor, with the face of Anubis on it.

When Imhotep walked to the square and stood on the faces, the floor suddenly began to move, a loud noise coming from under the square. A seemingly invisible force then restrained Imhotep as a dark cloud of smoke made its way out through his mouth and ears. When the unknown force retreated, the High Priest frantically looked about and attempted to use his powers and lift the gold ornaments on a small table a few feet away, but failed, only managing to make them rattle a bit.

" _The great God Anubis..._ " He gasped. " _... has taken my powers._ "

**********************************************************

Rick cradled his son in his arms, rubbing circles on the crying boy's back.

Gently pulling back to hold Alex by the shoulders, he murmured, "Stay here."

Sitting beside her dead sister, Evelyn looked on blankly at her brother-in-law as he cast one last broken-hearted look down at his dead wife before proceeding his way into the temple. She remained there for a moment longer before she finally shot to her feet, grabbed her firearms and began to make her way away from her family and out of the clearing.

Noticing his little sister leaving, Jonathan instantly shot to his feet and went after her. "Evie? Evie! Where are you going?"

"Someone has to warn Ardeth and the other Medjai about what's happened and what will undoubtedly go on in that pyramid," she replied simply, not slowing her pace.

"You can't seriously be thinking of going back through there, Eves," the man tried to reason with his sister. "That jungle is full of those little pigmies roaming around. The only chance you got is throwing dynamites at them since they seem so fond of the sparkling flames, but we're out of those and—"

"We'll have to go through it eventually to leave this hell hole," she cut her brother off mid-rant. "I'm simply choosing to go now."

"What's gotten into you, Evie?"

Evelyn stopped short in her step, her grip tightening on her shotgun. "Wha— what's gotten into me?!" She spun on her heels to face her brother. "My sister died, Jonathan. O _-our_ sister is dead. I can't simply wait around, wasting all the training she's giving me doing _nothing_ while Rick risks his life to stop that.... _that...!_ That _horribly... gorgeous, fully regenerated, previously mummified, two-timing freak!_ "

Jonathan stared at her plainly for a long moment. "... did you just...?"

"Yeah... 've got no idea where that came from," Evelyn admitted a little breathlessly.

Jonathan studied her a moment longer— she wasn't a girl anymore, she was a grown woman. A woman capable of rationalizing which decisions she made were good and which were not. Both of them knew it was a bad idea to go out there without any backup, but Evelyn was right— someone had to tell Ardeth and the other Medjai what had been and what might be, so they would prepare themselves for the possibly upcoming war.

And although Jonathan would hate to admit it, his little sister was far better trained in combat than he was and had a higher chance at surviving in that cursed jungle than he did. The least he could do was stay by his nephew's side and bring him as much comfort as he could while his sister journeyed back to the world outside that jungle, and their brother-in-law did everything possible to stop the resurrected High Priest from raising the army of Anubis.

"Fine." He relented. "Go. But Evelyn... just— please be careful. Mum and Dad are gone, and we just lost Annabella. I can't lose you too," he said almost defeatedly.

The woman's hazel eyes welled up upon hearing this and she launched herself forward, hugging her brother ever so tightly as they hadn't done in a long time. They remained so for a few seconds longer before Evelyn tore herself away and stalked off into the trees, leaving Jonathan with the eight-year-old crying beside his dead mother.

"Oh, God..." he mumbled to himself as he slowly began to make his way back to them. "What do I do, Annie? What do I do?"

For a long moment, Jonathan sat in silence beside his dead sister and his weeping nephew. Rick had gone to face the danger inside the pyramid, and Evelyn had gone to face the dangers of the jungle anew to find Ardeth. He couldn't tell what was worse; facing the dangers from the jungle and the pyramid or facing the dangers of the awkwardness at comforting an weeping eight-year-old.

"Think of it this way, Alex…" the man murmured, leaning his head against his nephew's shoulder. "She's gone to a better place. Just like it says in the good book—"

"Book!" Suddenly, Alex's head snapped up, his face immediately lit with so much hope.

"What?"

" _The_ book!" Alex exclaimed himself.

Jonathan instantly pulled back, feeling puzzled at his nephew's sudden outburst. "I'm not quite catching on..."

But the boy merely leapt onto his feet and grabbed his uncle's hand and pulled at it. "C'mon, Uncle Jon, let's go!"

"I still don't know what you're getting at," Jonathan admitted as he was pulled to his feet by the eight-year-old.

**********************************************************

As Rick delved deeper into the maze of corridors, a strange light suddenly came out of the floor and moved throughout the pyramid, bringing color back into the seemingly black and whitened walls.

The cause of this sudden change, Rick discovered, was the Curator, whom he found with his arm stuck inside the hole of a scorpion decorated door.

"You're too late O'Connell, I have released the army of Anubis, Lord Imhotep shall soon kill the Scorpion King and take command."

Richard O'Connell was not fazed by the man's taunting words. He merely dropped his lit torch onto the sandy ground, then grabbed a double-edged axe from a golden statue nearby.

"Not when I get through with him," the man replied darkly.

Suddenly, from the other side of the door, something took hold of the Curator's hand and violently began to feast on it, eliciting painful shrieks from the man. Upon hearing the sudden growling coming from behind the door, Rick spun back to see what that was about, his newly acquired axe raised above his head in a defensive stance. When the Curator finally managed, his hand was nothing more than that of a skeleton, with small residuals of flesh hanging from his bony fingers.

God, that's disgusting...

**********************************************************

Imhotep slowly turned his head and looked at Anck-Su-Namun with hard eyes. " _It seems he wants me to fight as a mortal._ "

" _No, you can't_ ," Anck-Su-Namun protested. " _He will kill you._ "

" _You have the Book of the Dead,_ " Imhotep said simply, handing the book over to her. " _You can bring me back to life._ "

Anck-Su-Namun growled under her breath, snatching the book from his hands and angrily placed it on a stone slab before turning back toward him, grabbing his face in her hands, and pulling herself closer to him.

" _I don't want to lose you again_ ," she said, her eyes gazing pleadingly up at him before forcing her lips onto his, kissing him with so much passion and despair.

Rather than return the affectionate gesture, Imhotep tore himself out of her grasp and ran toward the door that would lead him to where the Scorpion King awaited.

**********************************************************

Thick green leaves hit her face as she ran through the jungle, trying to not get caught and devoured by those little pigmies chasing her. Her shotgun was almost out of ammunition, and she couldn't get a good aim with her handgun while running for her life, so Evelyn had to settle with hitting any pigmy that jumped at her with her shotgun as though it were a baseball bat.

Stopping to catch her breath, she hid behind a large tree, cursing herself for being stupid enough to go off on her own.

"This would've been much easier if I had backup," the English woman grumbled. "And a silencer for my guns."

She waited a bit longer until the roar of tiny footsteps had faded away in the distance, though she found herself biting back a scream when she turn to her left and found herself staring up into two large black eyes. With a gasp, she scurried backward, trying to get away from the foul-smelling creature, though it merely advanced on her.

Evelyn closed her eyes tight, prepared for her upcoming doom, when, suddenly, something slimy and clearly rotten slid across her cheek. Her hazel eyes fluttered, and she realized what the undead creature standing before her had once been.

"Dear God, you're a... resuscitated horse," she whispered in shock, slowly sliding her back up the tree trunk she was pressed against as she pushed herself to stand.

The stallion took a step backwards, though remained at a close distance. Looking more closely at it, she could still see some skin covering the horse's body, indicating it had once been a dark brown colored horse. The skin looked almost healthy enough that the horse looked alive, but the emptiness in its eyes, and the sunkenness in its face and certain parts of its body showed otherwise. This horse had recently passed away. It was now undead, and...

"... you're not attacking me," Evelyn said dumbly, after having stared at the dead horse for a long moment.

A strange sound left the horse's lips, and if Evelyn didn't know any better, she would've thought it was choking, but really, the undead creature was neighing in response to her statement.

"Oh, dear God," she mumbled. "This is it. I have gone absolutely mental."

Evelyn cringed when the horse nudged its head against her shoulder. Its scent was excruciatingly foul, but if the creature was not going to cause her any harm and was seemingly comfortable with her presence, then perhaps she could take advantage of that.

"Okay," she breathed out, taking her turn to approach the horse. Upon noticing her movement, the stallion took a couple steps back. She raised her hands, her shotgun and handgun put away, and showed that she was making to move to harm it.

"I won't hurt you if you don't hurt me."

A sound resembling a snort escaped the horses snout. Carefully, she walked around the undead stallion, her nose scrunched slightly as she tried to ignore its stench of rot and death and stopped right at its side.

"Please don't throw me off," she pleaded softly.

Then, in one big leap, she mounted the horse. The creature staggered a bit beneath her and scrambled about as though trying to throw her off.

"C'mon, work with me. If we don't get out of this jungle, we'll both be officially dead!"

The horse seemed to understand her words and calmed down, snorting a couple times before rearing on its hind legs, then cantering off, sprinting through the trees in the direction she had been previously heading toward.

Out of that jungle.

**********************************************************

With Annabella's limp figure nestled in his arms, Jonathan followed his nephew through the dark tunnels of the golden pyramid of Ahm Shere, glancing nervously about, afraid something might jump at them and devour them.

"Al, you do realize, of course, that this can only be done by someone who can _actually_ read ancient Egyptian," he pointed out. "And I don't know about you, but I'm a bit rusty." He glanced around when they came to a stop in front of a wall that aligned two different paths. "Now where—"

"We go right," the boy cut him off.

Jonathan blinked, then looked down at his nephew curiously. "How do you know?"

Alex lifted the lit torch he was using to light their path and brought it up to the wall where ancient Egyptian inscriptions were drawn onto the stone.

" _Kashish asireni_ ," the boy read. "Basically, this way to the Scorpion King." He looked up at the man with a sad gleam in his eyes. "Mum taught me."

Jonathan looked after Alex, who started down the hall on the right and sighed. _This just might work_...

**********************************************************

She knew the creature was going as fast as it could, but she could not help but wish it'd go faster as soon as her eyes caught sight of the battle having unleashed at the end of the jungle. Her black pupils almost dilated fully over her hazel irises when her eyes zeroed in on one particular Medjai who quickly falling at the mercy of a shadowy creature, trying to protect his fellow fighter.

 _So much for hurrying to warn them before hell ran them through_...

Impatient to get there, Evelyn urged the stallion to go faster. "C'mon, give me a boost, will ya."

The horse neighed.

She steadily stood on its back, then shouted, "Now!"

And the horse's rear rose abruptly, sending Evelyn flying forward, flipping through the air in a surprisingly graceful manner, landing exactly where she had hoped she would, just in time to clash her shotgun against a curved, iron blade.

"Evelyn!" a voice cried out from behind her, tone filled with surprise as well as shock.

"You might want to start fighting back right about now!" she exclaimed herself, hitting the dark creature with the head of a jackal straight in the face with the butt of her shotgun. "Don't you think, Ardeth?" She turned back to face him when she had cut down the creature with its own blade.

"Right!"

The Medjai, after quickly recovering from his fall off his stallion, stood in haste and threw one of his own blades to Evelyn, who quickly caught it. Shoving her shotgun back into its holster on her, she spun on her heels, both simultaneously turning their backs to each other as they resumed their fighting positions fighting back against their foes.

Had her life and thus of many others not been in actual danger in that instant, Evelyn would've swooned over the epic battle sequence worthy of an entire chapter of an action-filled book.

**********************************************************

Having finally reached the woman who held _the_ book, Jonathan placed his sister on the ground in the corner and went off to distract their enemy while Alex went to snatch the ancient artifact.

Walking up behind the tall, slender woman, easily catching her attention with his not so silent footsteps, he glared her down, enraged by her mere presence as he could not help but think back to the moment she'd driven the blade through his sister and he'd stood by, doing nothing but being thrown about like a ragdoll by the High Priest.

"Woman," he spoke, his words firm, loud and clear. "I challenge you to a duel."

The woman chuckled darkly, seemingly unimpressed by him already, sneering back at the man. " _If Nefertiri could never beat me, what makes you think_ you _can?_ "

Jonathan merely blinked, at first, in response, unable to discern what the hell she was blabbering about. "I haven't a clue of what you just said," he replied admittedly, his voice still holding a hint of defiance that was shattering by the second. "I can only guess it was something to degrade me."

Alex shut his eyes, irked with embarrassment aimed toward his uncle.

"Never mind that, though," said Jonathan. "I am not here to be degraded, but to…" He paused for a moment, before dramatically pointing toward the woman. "Avenge my sister!"

Alex didn't think anyone could look any more unimpressed as Anck-Su-Namun did at that very moment.

With a roll of her eyes, she decided she would humor the live doppelganger of Ramses the Second; after all, it's not like she had anything else to do at that moment. She placed _the_ book aside and walked to stand in front of him, a clear indication that she was accepting his… challenge.

"It's time someone taught you a lesson, wench," Jonathan said proudly. He stepped forward and readied himself to throw in the first hit. "This is for my sister!"

He lunged forward, only to have his fist caught, a smaller one socking him in the face. Alex cringed; it was very clear that single hit was painful, he could tell from the small tear welling up in his uncle's eye.

Alex grimaced as he quietly made his way toward the book as quickly as he could. At least his uncle decided to go down as a trooper rather than the coward he was more oft than not…

**********************************************************

" _You've already taken her from me!_ " The enraged resuscitated mummy growled. " _Now you come to try to kill me... and then kill him to send his army back to that underworld..._ " Imhotep smirked evilly. " _That, I_ will _not allow, nor will I allow you to take what belongs to me!_ "

Rick groaned as another punch flew to his face and then another to his stomach. This endless fight was really tiring him, but the anger he felt from all they'd been through ten years ago, and in the past couple days really surpassed all sorts of exhaustion.

He wasn't just fighting this previously mummified freak to just stop him from leading the army of Anubis. Not even just for his life either, or the lives of his son and siblings-in-law.

No.

He was doing this for Anna. For the spark of hope he'd felt after so long when he first met his beloved wife. For that first night they had intimately shared their first true kiss by the fire. For that look of love and relief she'd held in her eyes upon him rescuing her from that stupid mummy.

_Anna…_

He would avenge her…

**********************************************************

Evelyn laughed softly as Ardeth placed his big, strong hands on her waist and spun her around as the Medjai around them cheered at their victory.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake, and a familiar audible rumble echoed across the landscape. The laughter was quick to vanish from her face as she squirmed slightly in his grip for him to put her down. Both sharing a worried look, they subconsciously grasped onto each other's hand and rushed past the large army of Medjai, heading for the direction in which the cursed jungle was located.

Upon reaching the end of the line, Evelyn felt her breath getting caught up in her throat at the sight before her. _You can't be serious..._

Turning to look back at Ardeth as the shaking of the ground beneath them only intensified, she looked the man in the eye and daringly took a step forward, toward him.

"In case we don't survive this," she began, but was cut off mid-sentence as he grabbed her by the waist, pulled her toward him, and leaned down, crashing his lips onto hers, the action surprising the hell out of both of them.

When the couple finally pulled away, the undead army of Anubis was approaching them all at a steady yet visibly fast pace. The growing of the ground-shaking was what had brought them out of their passionate moment and back into reality. The couple's hold momentarily tightened around the other as their bodies tensed in anticipation.

"Ardeth, I know this is incredibly late and irrelevant to what's going on right now, but I am unconditionally and irrevocably in love with you and have been for the past ten years." _God, this makes me feel and sound pathetic_... Evelyn thought nervously. "And I know you're probably not allowed to this kind of bondage and probably don't even feel that way, but I—"

Before she could say anything else, Ardeth's rough lips crashed onto hers once more, cutting her off mid-sentence.

"I would've thought me kissing you was a clear indication that I greatly reciprocate these feelings," his deep voice nearly drowning under the rumbling of their heavy footsteps stomping against the ground.

"Oh," Evelyn mumbled stupidly, suddenly feeling awkward about bringing such a thing up in a moment of war. "Well... erm... I guess... uh... I'm glad then? We... we should probably get ready to fight for our lives now then..."

Reluctantly, the Medjai released his hold on the petite woman, nodding as he voiced his agreement. "Indeed, we should," he said as they both stood apart from each other, taking on similar battle stances, mirrored by the rest of the Medjai.

Ardeth looked over at Evelyn one last time before raising his blade, letting out a raging battle cry echoed by his comrades before the lot of them, too, charged forward, ready to fight for their lives in vengeance toward all the people that had died in the past for the same cause.

In vengeance for the legendary Queen of Egypt.

**********************************************************

Jonathan had managed to get a few punches in, but he was still losing miserably against this reincarnated Egyptian concubine. As he was beaten more forcefully, he frightfully called out to his nephew, his impatience getting the best of him.

"Hurry up, Alex!" Jonathan shouted as he and his opponent had engaged weapons into the fight, Jonathan using the metal stick he had stolen back from Izzy, while Anck-Su-Namun had appropriated herself of a pair of sais.

This caught Anck-Su-Namun's attention, causing her to momentarily turn away from Jonathan.

" _Hootash... naraba oss Veesloo_ ," Alex read with perfect articulation as he sat before his mother's corpse, the Book of The Dead wide open between his crossed legs. " _Ahm kum Ra. Ahm kum Dei..._ "

Jonathan used this moment of distraction to attack her, but Anck-Su-Namun was quick to block his attack with her sais.

" _Efday Shokran... Efday Shokran..._ " Alex suddenly shook his head in frustration. He couldn't remember the word for that very last symbol. "Uncle Jon, I don't know what this last symbol is!"

"What's it look like?!" Jonathan shouted back as he wielded the golden stick as though it were a sword, surprisingly blocking the Theban concubine's attacks with ease.

"It's a bird!" Alex yelled as he made enacted the symbol, flapping one arm as though it were a wing. "A stork!"

Upon hearing that word, Jonathan managed to knock Anck-Su-Namun to the ground, causing her to drop one of her sais in the process of falling. The man grinned excitedly, not only at the fact that he managed to knock down a very skilled fighter, but also that he knew exactly what that one word meant.

"I know that one! I know that one!" Before he could say what it was, though, Anck-Su-Namun had effortlessly jumped back onto her feet and stormed toward him with a raging growl, ceasing him by the throat and aiming her sai toward his face, only just being blocked in the nick of time.

"Then what is it?" Alex demanded, and, for a second there, Jonathan could've sworn his nephew sounded just like his sister.

"A...!"

With as much strength as he could muster while being strangled, Jonathan pushed Anck-Su-Namun off him and gasped, trying to catch his breath. Then, without wasting another second, he spread his arms in glee from having fended thus far pretty well in the fight as well as the excitement of having been useful in the language he had never put much effort in fully learning.

" _Ahmenophus_!"

Alex's eyes lit up with the same glee his uncle had felt just a moment ago before being attacked once again by the Egyptian resuscitated freak.

"That's it!" he cried out excitedly. " _Efday Shokran Ahmenophus_!"

His eyes then became seemingly impossibly wider as the book he held began to momentarily glow a golden colour before that light whisked itself up in the air and seemed to almost dance around him before shooting down into his mother's chest. He watched, entranced, as her open wounds slowly sealed shut, leaving fresh pink scars barely visible beneath the cut fabric of her shirt.

A gasp from the grave was enough to startle him out of his daze and fill him with relief.

Simultaneously, Jonathan let out a gasp of his own, clutching his chest in pain after Anck-Su-Namun had cornered him against a statue and sliced her weapon across his chest. He pulled his hand away from his open wound and grimaced at the blood now covering his hand as well.

Using that moment of distraction to her advantage, Anck-Su-Namun went for the final blow when, suddenly, an ivory-skinned hand intercepted her attack, taking a tight hold of her arm.

Anck-Su-Namun's eyes widened in shock at the suddenly fierce look in the hazel eyes of the person standing there; the person who was supposed to be dead.

It was Annabella O'Connell, of course, though there was something distinctively different about her.

Annabella tutted at the olive-skinned woman, "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" she told her, a scold clear in her smooth voice before she threw her backward.

"Oh, my God... Annie!" Jonathan gasped in surprise and slight shock.

"Take Alex," was all she said. "Go and help Rick."

"But Mom..."

"No 'but's, Alex," she retorted with a hint of finality in her tone that left no place for arguments.

"Come on, Alex," Jonathan said hurriedly, picking the boy up and dragging him in the direction that his brother-in-law would surely be.

"Oh, come on!" the boy exclaimed himself as he was hauled away. "I just brought you back to life!"

Eyes never leaving her pray, Anna went to grab some sais for herself as Anck-Su-Namun retrieved the one she had last earlier, her own eyes never leaving the reincarnation of her nemesis.

"Don't worry, son, I'll be just fine."

This seemed to reassure the boy as he squirmed out of his uncle's grip and grabbed his hand, once again taking the lead. "I told you we'd make it, Uncle Jon! We did it!"

"Right, partner," the man agreed. "Now let's go help your dad."

Gradually, the women began to round each other, eyes narrowed at each other. Finally, Anck-Su-Namun stopped, letting herself feel slightly impressed as a sudden realization hit her.

" _Nebetia_."

The woman standing before her stared at her a moment longer, giving nothing away before she permitted herself to smirk at her opponent. Yes, she was right; this was not just Annabella, but Nebetia as well. The smoothness in the resurrected Queen's voice was a clear indication of that.

" _Anck-Su-Namun_ ," she replied smoothly, twisting the sais in her hands, reacquainting herself with the weapons. " _It's been a while, hasn't it? Though, I guess ten years isn't considerably as long as three-thousand..._ "

Anck-Su-Namun chuckled, somewhat humorously. " _Always the smart-mouth, I see_."

" _Well, I wouldn't be me if I wasn't_ ," Annabella replied, her voice taking on a lighter tone, her composure calm as ever. " _Something I'm sure you're quite glad about, am I right?_ "

Anck-Su-Namun sneered at her. " _Quite_."

Merely a second after she spoke, she daringly took a step forward and threw her first attack. Though daring, it was clearly still very tentative. Wary; it didn't matter if it had been millenniums since they had last fought each other... well, technically; their last encounter was more of a chase than a fight.

Right now, Anck-Su-Namun only had her own knowledge in battle, but Nebetia was clearly not just Nebetia. Her knowledge from three-thousand years ago was there, but so was the knowledge of Annabella Carnahan O'Connell, and it was clear that she knew how to fight.

The women began to perform a series of maneuvers against each other, slightly relieving Anck-Su-Namun'

" _Good; you have remembered the old ways_ ," said the concubine as she pushed Annabella against a wall, smirking down at the slightly shorter woman.

Anna gave her a smirk of her own before abruptly slamming her head forward, headbutting Anck-Su-Namun, deciding it was time she showed herself too. Anck-Su-Namun stumbled backward, looking at Annabella in clear shock.

"That's a little something new!"

And thus began the rigorous fight between the resurrected queen and the previously mummified traitorous freak.


	10. Revenge brings no end…

_Gradually, the women began to round each other, eyes narrowed at each other. Finally, Anck-Su-Namun stopped, letting herself feel slightly impressed as a sudden realization hit her._

_" **Nebetia.** "_

_The woman standing before her stared at her a moment longer, giving nothing away before she permitted herself to smirk at her opponent. Yes, she was right; this was not just Annabella, but Nebetia as well. The smoothness in the resurrected Queen's voice was a clear indication of that._

_" **Anck-Su-Namun,** " she replied smoothly, twisting the sais in her hands, reacquainting herself with the weapons. " **It's been a while, hasn't it? Though, I guess ten years isn't considerably as long as three-thousand...** "_

_Anck-Su-Namun chuckled, somewhat humorously. " **Always the smart-mouth, I see.** "_

_" **Well, I wouldn't be me if I wasn't,** " Annabella replied, her voice taking on a lighter tone, her composure calm as ever. " **Something I'm sure you're quite glad about, am I right?** "_

_Anck-Su-Namun sneered at her. " **Quite**."_

_Merely a second after she spoke, she daringly took a step forward and threw her first attack. Though daring, it was clearly still very tentative. Wary; it didn't matter if it had been millenniums since they had last fought each other... well, technically; their last encounter was more of a chase than a fight._

_Right now, Anck-Su-Namun only had her own knowledge in battle, but Nebetia was clearly not just Nebetia. Her knowledge from three-thousand years ago was there, but so was the knowledge of Annabella Carnahan O'Connell, and it was clear that she knew how to fight._

_The women began to perform a series of maneuvers against each other, slightly relieving Anck-Su-Namun'_

_" **Good; you have remembered the old ways** ," said the concubine as she pushed Annabella against a wall, smirking down at the slightly shorter woman._

_Anna gave her a smirk of her own before abruptly slamming her head forward, headbutting Anck-Su-Namun, deciding it was time she showed herself too. Anck-Su-Namun stumbled backward, looking at Annabella in clear shock._

_"That's a little something new!"_

_And thus began the rigorous fight between the resurrected queen and the previously mummified traitorous freak._

**********************************************************

Annabella dropped her sais and threw a strong uppercut at the olive-skinned warrioress.

" _That's for destroying my life three-thousand years ago_."

Another punch flew toward Anck-Su-Namun's stomach, causing the woman to stumble backward once more.

" _That's for trying to kill me, again, ten years ago,_ " she added through gritted teeth.

Annabella then threw in a wild slap that echoed through the chambers.

"That's for kidnapping my son and sending my family and me on another wild goose chase." Blowing a curl from her face, she glared down at the woman holding her stomach in pain. "Do you know how hard it is to run around in heels? I have blisters!"

With a swift spin, Anna brought her leg up, kicking Anck-Su-Namun straight in the face, slicing her cheek open with the three-inch heel of her boot. "... on the other hand, heels are pretty handy sometimes..." Anna mumbled to herself.

Anck-Su-Namun's hand flew to her cheek and stared with wide eyes, shocked when she found blood coating her fingers. Her shocked eyes turned fearful as they shifted toward the woman who had caused her to bleed.

"And _that_ is for killing my unborn child and me," she growled fiercely. "You're lucky the damage you caused wasn't anything worse than _that_. Otherwise, I would've done a lot worse than just scar that pretty face o' yours right about now."

Anck-Su-Namun's eyes hardened.

" _Now, before this escalates any further_ ," said the resuscitated queen, speaking once more in her native language, two voices speaking in unison as they left her lips; Nebetia was not the only one asking this— Anna wished to know this as well. " _ _And I'm not just stopping this because I am a tired pregnant woman... actually, I_ _am _saying this because I am a tired pregnant woman— that's not the point!__ I_ _want to know why you did it. Why did you betray us, Anck-Su-Namun? Why did you betray_ me _?_ "

Anck-Su-Namun sneered at the reincarnated queen. " _I had my reasons, all of which I am not obliged to tell you._ "

" _Reasons that would turn you into a killer?!_ "

The olive-skinned concubine had been Nebetia's best friend, practically her sister. Together, they had grown and learned how to be proper ladies of the Egyptian royal court. Together, they had been taught to fight, and together they had more than often trained with the Mumia to reinforce their skills, which they were to use to protect the crown and their people.

But Anck-Su-Namun strayed, and Nebetia can't seem to remember when so had happened. What could have pushed the concubine to betray her— the princess whom had done but her best to always be the better person. To be the better ruler when her turn would come. She had always still been slightly selfish, putting her own family and closest friends, being Anck-Su-Namun herself, and Imhotep before anything else, including her people.

And yet, the closest people to her betrayed her.

Had the olive-skinned beauty been envious? Had she been jealous of her betrothal to the High Priest? Had she loved him far longer and deeper than she had? If so were the case, she could literally have just said so; Nebetia had never been in love with Imhotep. She had cared for him as the friend and close ally of her father and had simply accepted the betrothal because it had been requested of her by her father. And frankly, she would have preferred marrying him— a man she already knew— rather than a complete stranger.

It seems, however, that, in the end, all her efforts had been but a complete waste when it came down to the woman she'd regarded as a second sister and the man she had gradually come to love, once upon a time.

Once, this realization would have saddened her. But all cards were on the table, turned face up; she knew the truth, whether she refused to believe it or not. She knew why these stupidities, having led to unnecessary deaths, happened; and she wasn't sad. Not one bit.

She was angry— furious.

" _You were my friend, Anck-Su-Namun. My sister! And you betrayed me! And my father loved you… and you murdered him!_ "

" _Your father was a curse upon our land!_ " Anna took a step back in surprise. " _And you… you were no different; if anything, I did the world a favor_."

" _A favor…_ " She huffed in disbelief. " _A favor?! My father and I where nowhere close, in the slightest, to the snake you let yourself become, Anck-Su-Namun. You act as if I took everything from you when, truly, you took everything from me! You took the man I was meant to be with. You took my father from me—"_

" _You seemed rather content that we would marry_ ," Anck-Su-Namun sneered tauntingly.

"Who in their right minds would be okay with the fact that their closest friend of the same age would marry their father who was twice as old as they were?!" Anna exclaimed herself, her English accent bustling through with her rising fury before she reverted back to the ancient Egyptian tongue. " _I wasn't happy about it, but he was my father— all that mattered was that_ he _would be happy!_ "

Anna growled and kicked Anck-Su-Namun in the stomach, knocking her down. " _And he was! Because he **loved** you!_ " Another punch was thrown amidst the anger. " _And you took him from me! You took_ them _from me!_ " Her moves had grown sloppy from the mixture of anger and sorrow she felt. " _Ramses… my betrothed— my sister died because of you!_ "

The fierce warrioress, practically glowing with anger, stared into the dark depths of the concubine's soul, two voices speaking in unison as she whipped out a dagger, which took Anck-Su-Namun but a second to realize it was the one she'd used to kill her earlier.

"And now, the time to avenge my loved ones has finally come," spoke the queen, reverting back to the father tongue of her reincarnation.

Yes— she would avenge them. She would avenge them all.

"And, this time, I will _not_ back down."

**********************************************************

The Curator stumbled about, whimpering in pain at the loss of his hand. He noticed Rick a few ways away, running toward him with a ginormous creature right on his trail. The creature— the Scorpion King reached to snatch him in one of his enormous claws. Instead, he snatched the frightened curator who began to cry out for help.

"My Priest," he pleaded his master. "Please, help me. Save me!"

The mummy rendered man looked at him with such an indifference that could've killed anyone. "Why?" he merely wondered aloud; he cared not for the curator or anyone else for that matter, but Nebetia, so why should he save him?

The cries of the man in distress were soon muffled before ultimately stop at once upon being torn in half by the Scorpion King, instantly dying, the lifeless limbs being thrown in either side of the chamber.

Rick continues to run, too lost in his own fear to think straight. Suddenly, his mind seems to rewire itself as he falls upon a painting on the far wall, portraying a warrior with the exact same tattoo he had stamped on his wrist.

His fear morphing into shock and disbelief, he rapidly glanced back and forth between the tattoo on the drawn man and his own a couple of times, before his gaze shifted toward the stick that resembled the one Jonathan was ridiculously enamored with. He frantically gazed along the wall, following the different paintings until he saw the final product of unfolding said golden stick.

Then, the realization finally sunk in.

"Okay, now I'm a believer," he muttered.

At that same moment, Jonathan and Alex burst their way into the chamber, both simultaneously exclaiming themselves, frantically trying to get Rick's attention and ask what he needed help with. Their efforts were nowhere in vain as the moment they appeared, Rick's head snapped their way, slightly frightened for their lives as well, but also relieved upon noticing the stick in Jonathan's hand.

_Yes!_

"Jonathan, it's a spear!" he tried to tell his brother-in-law, but his voice was barely audible above the growling of the Scorpion King, and the roaring of the flames trying to lick their way from the openings in the cracking the ground.

"What?!"

Rick tried mimicking as he shouted above the noise. "That gold stick thing! It's a spear!" He imitated someone throwing something.

"You're looking for a lance?"

"It's a spear, dammit!!"

"Why are you imitating a pitcher… pitching in baseball?!"

"THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH BASEBALL!!!"

"Well, then I don't know what you're saying!" the poor Englishman exclaimed himself helplessly.

"He's saying the darn thing turns into a spear, Uncle Jon!" Alex exclaimed himself, tugging at his blazer.

"Doesn't look like a spear," Jonathan stated dumbly.

"It opens up into one, you jackass!" Rick cried out.

"Alright, alright!"

"Hurry up—" Rick cut himself short upon hearing something approach from behind him. Slowly, he turned around and felt his eyes widen at the sight awaiting behind him.

The Scorpion King glared down at the man before emitting his most ferocious roar yet. The man retaliated with a battle cry of his own, followed by a whimper. Jonathan and Alex followed suite, their screams loud and simultaneous as Rick jumped off the platform he stood on before running off as fast as he could while the man-turned-creature chase after him.

At that same moment, two pairs of heels were faintly hear clanging against the stone floor as they quickly approached the chamber in which all disasters were happening at one. Just as the heavy footsteps came to a halt upon reaching the entrance, Rick was flung against a pillar.

"Rick!"

The man then groaned as he slid to the ground, then let himself look up toward the entrance where he was sure he heard the voice he was certain he wasn't supposed to hear. Was he seriously so weak that he died from a single fling against a pillar? But then, if he was dead— why the hell was the Scorpion King still hovering above him, smelling like a fried crab?

"Hey, you! Stay the hell away from my husband!"

Okay, so he definitely wasn't dead. But then how was she standing right there?!

"ANNA?!"

Before the woman could rush forward to help, Anck-Su-Namun intercepted her this time, blocking her from going any further with a kick to the stomach.

"Oh, come on! We're _all_ trying to get out!" Anna whined as she blocked the next hit thrown away.

In the corner, by the war Rick had seen the paintings, Alex and Jonathan fiddled panickingly with the stick, still trying to figure out how to unravel it into the spear it actually, _supposedly_ is.

Catching a quick glimpse at the same painting as she threw a punch at the olive-skinned concubine, Anna faltered slightly as the realization hit with the wave of familiarity.

Apparently, though, she was not the only one to realize this.

" _The spear of Osiris_ ," Imhotep stated, preparing to make his way to her brother and son.

"Hurry up, Jonathan!" she called out to him right before being thrust against the wall with immense force by Anck-Su-Namun, being held up against it by the taller, angry woman.

"Yes!" Alex exclaimed himself gleefully.

"Is that it?" Jonathan squealed, voice laced with hope.

"Jonathan— quick…"

Anna wheezed as her throat was suddenly caught and squeezed hard by her opponent, making it hard for her to breathe. She tried to force herself a little more, trying to urge her brother upon noticing the High Priest stalking their way, but all force was leaving her, and her vision was blurring at the lack of oxygen.

Feeding her adrenaline rush with the anger she felt for the previously mummified, traitorous freaks, she brought her knee up and, with a forceful shove, kneed Anck-Su-Namun in the gut. The dark-skinned warrioress dropped her as she held herself in pain.

"Throw it, Jonathan!" Anna managed to wheeze out. "Kill the Scorpion King! Send his army back to the Underworld!"

Before she could dodge herself an escape, she was shoved back against the wall, her assailant mirroring her own grimace of pain. Anna groaned.

"Oh, screw you too," she muttered tiredly.

Meanwhile, Jonathan gently pushed his nephew behind him as he prepared himself to attack. "Step aside, Alex; I'm a professional."

Alex rolled his eyes, but stepped behind. He watched attentively as his uncle took on the stance of a dart-thrower and aimed. The throw was clean, straight and perfect, which surprised the O'Connells— the only thing Jonathan had ever been good at was pissing people off, his own sisters amongst many, _many_ others. They watched, relieved as the spear flew in the air. It was mere meters away from hitting the Scorpion King when suddenly—

"No!" the uncle and nephew exclaimed themselves in shock.

Anck-Su-Namun grunted in pain as a knee flew to her gut once more, followed by a fist to her face, causing her to instantly drop the reincarnated queen. Anna rushed to where her brother and son stood, breathing shallow as she tried to catch her breath, frightened by what might happen now; Imhotep caught the spear was readying himself to throw it.

" _The army of Anubis shall now be mine!_ "

She would run. She would tackle his sorry ass to the ground, but she was only growing more tired; being brought back to life doesn't make you younger, it just… brings you back to life.

"Ah… fuck you too, you asshole," Anna mumbled in slight defeat.

Not ready to give up herself, she readied herself to sprint forward just as he threw the spear, but stopped short, eyes wide with shock when her own husband caught the golden spear.

"NO!" Imhotep all but howled.

Spear in hand, Rick O'Connell rolled on the ground and spun around, thrusting the blade forward just as the large body closed in on him to end his own life.

"Rick!" Anna exclaimed herself, but the ground suddenly began to shake.

"Go to hell!" the man growled at the Scorpion King, as the latter's face twisted in pain. "And take your friends with you."

**********************************************************

The army of jackal-headed demonic soldiers bearing down on the Medjai suddenly dissolved into black sand, washing over the talented fighters. Evelyn squinted her eyes as the black sand swept over them. Glancing up and around upon it disappearing completely, her eyes lit up as the realization hit her. She looked at Ardeth and smiled brightly.

"It's done," she breathed out.

"What?" he asked her, still slightly puzzled.

"It's over," she elaborated with a small chuckle of disbelief. "They did it. They destroyed the King. It's over!"

As the realization sank in on him, Ardeth's lips slowly curled upward, before long mirroring Evelyn's bright smile. He raised his hands to the sky and cried out their victory, praising their gods for looking after them. In a swift move, his large, rough hands were on the reincarnated princess' hips, pulling her toward him, crashing his lips onto her.

Evelyn gasped slightly before she let herself melt into his comforting embrace; she had waited long enough.

Suddenly, the couple tore apart upon feeling the rumble beneath their feet. This wasn't the rumble of soldiers marching to war. No— this was something else. Something completely different…

But what?

Sharing a worried look, the couple ran through the crowd of Medjai, hand in hand, afraid that they would lose each other if they let go. Upon reaching the end of the line once more, Evelyn felt her eyes widen at the sight before her. _Dear God..._

The same black sand that had washed over them shot out from the pyramid, swirling around Ahm Shere, taking the form of the Scorpion King's face one last time before dispersing in the air, disappearing just as it came.

They all watched in shock and surprise as the place began to fall in on itself, the entire place collapsing. At that moment, Evelyn could only think—

What of the rest of her family?

**********************************************************

The instant the ground began to violently shake within the pyramid, Rick and Imhotep fell over the edge of the pit beyond the crackling ground. Before they could fall all the way, however, the pair shot their hands forward and latched onto the edge of the stone ground by their fingers, only just managing to hold on for dear life.

"Dad…" Alex mumbled, frightened as he saw his father being pulled back down— by what? He did not know.

Anna knew, somehow, that they were souls— the lost souls of the Underworld, come to try and take her husband. She could not let that happen. Determined, she glanced up at the crumbling ceiling with a moment's hesitation.

 _Fight for him_ , Anna, she heard a familiar voice whisper in the back of her mind. _I left my one true love for a traitor, then lost him in the midst of that treason— don't lose yours._

It was decided— no way in  _hell_  was she about to lose the love of her life to the dead who just wouldn't stay dead.

Noticing the resolve in her eyes, Rick growled as he forced himself upward a little more; he'd lost her once before, he was not about to lose her again on his account.

"Anna, no! Get out of here— just get out of here _now_!" he wheezed.

But it was too late; Annabella had already made up her mind.

Anna sprinted forward, spinning and halting on the tip of her toes to dodge the falling debris.

"Anna!" Rick whined; she never listens to him. But then again, he wouldn't have her change for anything in the world.

The English-Egyptian woman continued on, momentarily pausing, throwing herself against a pillar to avoid a large piece of broken stone falling from the ceiling from hitting her. With one final push, she leaped from the platform by the pillar to the ground, only just managing to catch Rick's hands before he could fall into the pit.

Rick had been about to give up, even if just for his family to get out and survive. But the moment Anna reached for him— the moment their hands connected anew, he was reminded that this was no way to go down. This was no way he wanted to go down. That spark of hope he'd felt after so long when he first met his beloved wife? He felt it right then and there when his bright blue orbs locked with those beautiful hazel-nut, green-speckled eyes of hers, filled with so much determination.

Kicking at the souls beneath him, Rick forced his muscles, pushing himself up and out of the pit with the help of the love of his life. With one last grunt, the couple leaped away from the pit and pressed themselves against the pillar Anna had previously been standing by.

With a heartbroken look in his eyes, Imhotep knew. Ten years ago— Annabella Carnahan O'Connell had been right; there was no way he would ever get a second chance with his beloved betrothed. The High Priest looked over at the reincarnated queen, tears building up in his sky-blue eyes.

Despite all wrong he did, Anna felt pity for him. He was wild, insane and murderous— all for love. He went to great lengths to try and reunite with his beloved— but she had moved on. She lost, and accepted, and moved on, giving way to the Carnahan's birth and reincarnation, after many, _many_ generations of Nebetia's descendants.

She moved on, so why couldn't he?

There was that resolve glinting in her eyes again. The one that said she had the answer. She did, and so did he; he wasn't going to get anything from her, even less from Nebetia, despite the fact that, at that moment, both— Queen and reincarnation forgave him.

But then… what of Anck-Su-Namun? He'd left the concubine aside this whole time— planning to kill her in the very end. But she _did_ love him, did she not? Twice, she killed herself for him to reunite them. Perhaps…

"Anck-Su-Namun! Anck-Su-Namun!" he called out to her.

The woman looked at him, fear in her eyes then shook her head. " _Na!_ "

Imhotep was struck, the welling tears slipping from his eyes as he watched her run away. And so there never was love for him…

With one last look at the reincarnated queen and her husband, Imhotep smiled sadly at them before he let go of the ledge, falling into the deepest pits below him, his life— his existence finally destroyed.

Rick felt torn; he hated the Priest's guts a shitload, but…

"It was his choice," said Anna, her tone soft; she knew he would have liked to save him— she had wanted to do the same, but you can't save those who don't want to be saved.

Tugging on his sleeve, the couple hurried to where Jonathan and Alex stood, and the four rushed toward the sole exit that led them outside, in direction of the tip of the pyramid. Clearly, having nowhere else to go, the family rushed their way up, till they finally reached the point, where laid a blood-red diamond in a golden case.

None of them noticed the enormous jewel, only feeling relieved when Izzy suddenly appeared in his dirigible.

"Izzy!" Rick exclaimed himself gleefully.

Izzy laughed. "Alright, hurry up, hurry up!"

"Go!" Rick urged the others.

Alex went first, followed by Anna, then Rick himself. Jonathan was last, though, as soon as he stepped onto the balloon, he fell over, his foot caught by the net hanging on the side of the floating ship.

"Pull him up, pull him up!" Izzy exclaimed himself.

Jonathan wholeheartedly agreed, crying out in fear, but that all soon vanished as soon as he caught a glimpse of the glittering diamond at the tip of the pyramid.

"Wait, wait! Lower me down, lower me down!"

"What?!"

Stretching as far as he could while Rick tried to pull the stubborn man back onto the ship, Jonathan reached and managed to snatch the enormous jewel from its stand, crying out victoriously.

"Pull me up now! I got it! Got it!"

Before long, the family and their friend were floating into the sunset, watching as, far below, Ahm Shere disappeared into the sand. Filled with excitement and exhilaration from their victory, Anna grabbed Izzy's face and kissed him fondly on the cheek before rushing over to her son, embracing tightly in her arms.

Izzy felt himself momentarily blush after being kissed by a beautiful goddess-looking woman but soon shook his little second-long boy-crush on the married woman as he finally let the events of the past couple days sink in.

"O'Connell! You nearly got me killed!"

Rick waved him off from where he lied on the ground beside his brother-in-law, panting for air. "At least I didn't get you shot."

"I got shot _at_."

"Izzy," Anna called out to him, after placing a kiss on the crown of her son's head, who clung to her for dear life. "Thank you, truly."

Izzy huffed, but smiled in spite of himself, shaking his head at the crazy family; this really was nothing new to them, was it? "What the hell have you been messing with this time?"

"Oh, you know," Rick grunted as he pushed himself onto his feet and began to make his way toward his son and wife. "The usual, mummies, pygmies, big bugs."

He ruffled his son's hair before ushering the boy toward his brother-in-law, so he could have a moment with his wife alone. He momentarily followed her gaze upon seeing her wave at something below; it was Evelyn. She was with Ardeth, arms around his waist, both saddled onto a raven-black horse. The couple smiled up at them, waving back.

Finally, she turned to look at him and smiled as he gently cradled her face between his hands, looking her over, as though trying to make sure she really was here.

"I'm here, Rick," she murmured; it's like she could read his mind, though, at this point, they've just really known each other long enough that they knew each other's way of thinking.

"I thought I almost lost you there," Rick mumbled.

"For a moment there, you did," she replied admittedly. "I thought I would go to Heaven… I've done lots of bad stuff, but I've redeemed myself over the years…"

"Anna…"

"Rick, I— _oh_ ," Anna mumbled in surprise.

Rick frowned. "… 'oh' what?"

Anna brought a hand to her stomach and widened her eyes. "Dear God…"

"Anna… what are you not telling me?"

The woman looked up, tears welling up in her hazelnut, green-speckled eyes. "Rick, I…." Instead of speaking, she grabbed one of his hands from her face and brought it down to her stomach.

His frown deepened; he was very puzzled. _You'd think by now he would know…_ Suddenly, he felt something move underneath his hand, and his eyes widened, realization finally sinking in.

"You were—"

"I _am_."

"This whole time we fought mummies?"

"… I _am_."

"And you didn't think to—"

"Rick! I was going to tell you, but then that previously mummified, two-timing freak and that previously mummified traitorous… bitch kidnapped our son, and I thought— when she— but Nebetia— Alex brought us all back, Rick."

"… all?"

"Well, Nebetia's gone now. I felt it. She was gone as soon as you killed the Scorpion King."

Rick brought his other hand down and gently cradled her stomach. "… I'm gonna be honest here; I thought you were just getting fat," he said admittedly. "But you're—" He cut himself off, laughing in disbelief. "We're gonna have— how long have you been…?"

Anna smiled, placing her hands over his on her stomach; he was taking it a lot better than she thought he would. "A few months. I wanted it to be a surprise."

Rick smiled lovingly down at her. "Well color me surprised," he murmured, bringing his hands up to gently cradle her face between them.

Anna's smile widened as she looked up at him with hooded eyes as she chuckled softly under her breath. "Have I kissed you today?"

Rick bit his lip, nuzzling his nose against hers. "I hate it when you do that."

Anna's smile morphed slightly into a devious smirk. "Why?"

"Makes me feel like agreeing to anything," he murmured.

"Now you know how I feel," Anna said softly.

"Glad the feeling's mutual."

Anna rolled her eyes. "Just kiss me, you fool."

"Yes, Ma'am."

The couple brought their lips together and shared the softest, most tender kiss they had ever shared. The kiss took a passionate turn as Rick slid his hands down her waist, pulling her closer, and Anna wrapped her arms around his neck.

The uncle and nephew standing a few ways away from the loving couple simultaneously rolled their eyes at the passionate display of affections. "Please," they muttered in unison.

"Love you, boys, too," Anna called out to them against her husband's lips. Rick pulled away and laughed softly, happily; this is his family, and they were together again, and safe.

… and hopefully, there would be no more mummies waiting for them over the horizon.

"That's half mine, by the way."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You stole my stick!"

"That sounds so wrong."

"I still don't know what you're talking about."

"That golden stick you were so in love with— it was a fair trade and you stole it from me!"

"I was not in love with it!"

"Yes, Jonathan, you were."


	11. The Mummy: The Battle of the Kins

No sneak-peek yet, but I give you the book cover of The Mummy 2 ½ (title's above, so I ain't gonna re-write it.); preview will be posted, possibly in a few weeks.

 

Also, I'm working on a Magi series which will actually feature the infamous Lena Rosales a.k.a. Lady Fackel, previously seen in Within The Force's first book --> Within Two Worlds, who I've chosen Vanessa Hudgens to portray (can't remember if I'd changed that in my Star Wars fanfic cast...) I'll be posting a sneak-peek for this one soon!

See you next time!!


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